古董

• Pinyin: gǔ dǒng
• Hanzi breakdown: 古 = 十 (ten generations) + 口 (mouth) — what ten generations have spoken of, hence ancient; 董 = 艹 (grass/plant) + 重 (heavy/weighty) — originally supervision; phonetically borrowed here

Meaning

Antique; antiquity; a rare old object valued for its historical significance, age, or craftsmanship. Colloquially, also used humorously to describe a person or thing that is old-fashioned or behind the times.

古董 refers to movable objects of historical significance — ceramics, bronzeware, calligraphy, furniture, jade, and so on. Contrasted with 古迹 (immovable historic sites). In colloquial usage it can teasingly describe someone who is stubbornly old-fashioned: 你这个古董 (you old relic). The antique market (古董市场) and authentication culture (古董鉴定) are culturally significant in China.

Examples

1. 这件青花瓷瓶据说是明代的古董，经过专家鉴定，拍卖底价定在两千万元。 This blue-and-white porcelain vase is said to be a Ming-dynasty antique. After expert authentication, the auction set a starting price of 20 million yuan.
2. 他的书房里摆满了从各地淘来的古董，每一件背后都有一段令人着迷的历史故事。 His study is filled with antiques he’s hunted down from all over, and each piece has a fascinating story behind it.
3. 祖父笑着摆摆手，说自己已经是个古董了，新式手机的功能一个也看不懂。 Grandpa waved his hand with a smile and said he was already an antique—he couldn’t understand a single feature on the new-style smartphones.

Usage Guide

Context: art, history, collecting, colloquial, culture

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 故宫博物院珍藏着数以万计的古董文物，是研究中国历史与传统工艺的宝贵资源。(The Palace Museum holds tens of thousands of antique cultural relics, making it an invaluable resource for researching Chinese history and traditional craftsmanship.)
• 他在旧货市场偶然发现一件古董砚台，经鉴定竟是清代宫廷御用之物，令他喜出望外。(He chanced upon an antique ink-stone at a flea market; upon appraisal it turned out to be an imperial court item from the Qing dynasty, which delighted him greatly.)

Don't Say

• 将'古董'用于指代所有历史遗存 — 古董 refers specifically to movable, collectable antique objects; for immovable heritage sites use 古迹 or 文物遗址 instead

Origin & History

古 (ancient; of the past) + 董 (originally meaning to supervise; later phonetically borrowed in this compound). The compound arose through semantic-phonetic association, with 古 (old) giving meaning and 董 contributing sound.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal