The kanji 旧 primarily conveys the idea of "old," "former," or "previous." It refers to something that existed in the past, has aged, or is no longer current. This can apply to things, places, or people.

・On-yomi (音読み): キュウ (kyuu) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): ふる-い (furu-i)

⚫︎ 旧友 Translation: Old friend ⚫︎ 旧正月 Translation: Lunar New Year (lit. "Old New Year") ⚫︎ 旧市街 Translation: Old town (area)

The kanji 旧 is a phonetic-semantic compound (形声文字). The left side is a component representing the shape of a person kneeling, which originally meant "to lower oneself," and the right side, 日 (sun), is thought to indicate time. This combines to suggest "old" in the sense of something that has existed for a long time. The character evolved over time, with the left side sometimes appearing slightly different depending on the writing style.