# 自古以來
## Chinese

| | | from time immemorial; since ancient times | since; for |
| trad. (自古以來) | trad. (自古以來) | 自古 | 以來 |
| simp. (自古以来) | simp. (自古以来) | 自古 | 以来 |

### Pronunciation

* Mandarin
    (Pinyin): zìgǔ yǐlái
    (Zhuyin): ㄗˋ ㄍㄨˇ ㄧˇ ㄌㄞˊ
* Cantonese (Jyutping): zi$^6$ gu$^2$ ji$^5$ loi$^4$
* Hakka
    (Sixian, PFS): chhṳ-kú yî-lòi
    (Hailu, HRS): cii$^˖$ gu$^ˊ$ rhi$^ˋ$ loi
* Mandarin
** (Standard Chinese)
*** Hanyu Pinyin: zìgǔ yǐlái [Phonetic: zìgúyǐlái]
*** Zhuyin: ㄗˋ ㄍㄨˇ ㄧˇ ㄌㄞˊ
*** Tongyong Pinyin: zìhgǔ yǐlái
*** Wade–Giles: tzŭ$^4$-ku$^3$ i$^3$-lai$^2$
*** Yale: dz̀-gǔ yǐ-lái
*** Gwoyeu Romatzyh: tzyhguu yiilai
*** Palladius: цзыгу илай (czygu ilaj)
*** Sinological IPA : /t͡sz̩⁵¹ ku²¹⁴⁻³⁵ i²¹⁴⁻²¹ laɪ̯³⁵/
* Cantonese
** (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
*** Jyutping: zi$^6$ gu$^2$ ji$^5$ loi$^4$
*** Yale: jih gú yíh lòih
*** Cantonese Pinyin: dzi$^6$ gu$^2$ ji$^5$ loi$^4$
*** Guangdong Romanization: ji$^6$ gu$^2$ yi$^5$ loi$^4$
*** Sinological IPA : /t͡siː²² kuː³⁵ jiː¹³ lɔːi̯²¹/
* Hakka
** (Northern Sixian, incl. Miaoli)
*** Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: chhṳ-kú yî-lòi
*** Hakka Romanization System: cii gu$^ˋ$ i$^ˊ$ loi$^ˇ$
*** Hagfa Pinyim: ci$^4$ gu$^3$ yi$^1$ loi$^2$
*** Sinological IPA: /t͡sʰɨ⁵⁵ ku³¹ i²⁴ loi̯¹¹/
** (Southern Sixian, incl. Neipu)
*** Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: chhṳ-kú yî-lòi
*** Hakka Romanization System: cii gu$^ˋ$ (r)i$^ˊ$ loi$^ˇ$
*** Hagfa Pinyim: ci$^4$ gu$^3$ yi$^1$ loi$^2$
*** Sinological IPA: /t͡sʰɨ⁵⁵ ku³¹ (j)i²⁴ loi̯¹¹/
** (Hailu, incl. Zhudong)
*** Hakka Romanization System: cii$^˖$ gu$^ˊ$ rhi$^ˋ$ loi
*** Sinological IPA: /t͡sʰɨ³³ ku²⁴⁻³³ ʒi⁵³ loi⁵⁵/
* Middle Chinese: dzijH kuX yiX loj
Rime :
| Character | 自 | 古 | 以 | 來 |
| Reading # | 1/1 | 1/1 | 1/1 | 1/1 |
| Initial (聲) | 從 (15) | 見 (28) | 以 (36) | 來 (37) |
| Final (韻) | 脂 (15) | 模 (23) | 之 (19) | 咍 (41) |
| Tone (調) | Departing (H) | Rising (X) | Rising (X) | Level (Ø) |
| Openness (開合) | Open | Open | Open | Open |
| Division (等) | III | I | III | I |
| Fanqie | 疾二切 | 公戸切 | 羊己切 | 洛哀切 |
| Baxter | dzijH | kuX | yiX | loj |
| Reconstructions |||||
| Zhengzhang Shangfang | /d͡ziɪ$^H$/ | /kuo$^X$/ | /jɨ$^X$/ | /lʌi/ |
| Pan Wuyun | /d͡zi$^H$/ | /kuo$^X$/ | /jɨ$^X$/ | /ləi/ |
| Shao Rongfen | /d͡zjɪ$^H$/ | /ko$^X$/ | /ie$^X$/ | /lɒi/ |
| Edwin Pulleyblank | /d͡zi$^H$/ | /kɔ$^X$/ | /jɨ$^X$/ | /ləj/ |
| Li Rong | /d͡zi$^H$/ | /ko$^X$/ | /iə$^X$/ | /lᴀi/ |
| Wang Li | /d͡zi$^H$/ | /ku$^X$/ | /jĭə$^X$/ | /lɒi/ |
| Bernhard Karlgren | /d͡zʱi$^H$/ | /kuo$^X$/ | /i$^X$/ | /lɑ̆i/ |
| Expected Mandarin Reflex | zì | gǔ | yǐ | lái |
| Expected Cantonese Reflex | zi$^6$ | gu$^2$ | ji$^5$ | loi$^4$ |
* Old Chinese
    (Baxter–Sagart): /*s.[b]i[t]-s kˤaʔ ləʔ mə.rˤək/
    (Zhengzhang): /*ɦljids kaːʔ lɯʔ m·rɯːɡ/
Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014) :
| Character | 自 | 古 | 以 | 來 |
| Reading # | 2/2 | 1/1 | 1/1 | 2/2 |
| Modern Beijing (Pinyin) | zì | gǔ | yǐ | lái |
| Middle Chinese | ‹ dzij$^H$ › | ‹ ku$^X$ › | ‹ yi$^X$ › | ‹ loj › |
| Old Chinese | /*s.[b]i[t]-s/ | /*kˁaʔ/ | /*ləʔ/ | /*mə.rˁək/ (> *rˁə) |
| English | to follow; from | ancient | take, use | come |
| Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p; * Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary. |||||
Zhengzhang system (2003) :
| Character | 自 | 古 | 以 | 來 |
| Reading # | 1/1 | 1/1 | 1/1 | 1/1 |
| No. | 17879 | 4219 | 14929 | 7598 |
| Phonetic component | 自 | 古 | 以 | 來 |
| Rime group | 至 | 魚 | 之 | 之 |
| Rime subdivision | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Corresponding MC rime | 自 | 古 | 以 | |
| Old Chinese | /*ɦljids/ | /*kaːʔ/ | /*lɯʔ/ | /*m·rɯːɡ/ |

### Adverb

自古以來
* from time immemorial; since ancient times
    From: Commentary of Zuo, c. 4th century BCE
    Zhì yè yú hǎo, jiǎng lǐ yú děng, shìwēi yú zhòng, zhāomíng yú shén, zìgǔ yǐlái, wèi zhī huò shī yě. [Pinyin]
    (please add an English translation of this usage example)

#### Synonyms

* 古來 / 古来 (gǔlái) (literary)
* 終古 / 终古 (zhōnggǔ) (literary)
* 自古 (zìgǔ)