| 自 |
zì gǔ yǐ lái | since ancient times |
| 自 |
zì | (bound form) self; oneself / from; since / naturally; as a matter of course |
| 自 |
zì gǔ | (since) ancient times / (from) time immemorial |
| 古 |
Gǔ | surname Gu |
| 古 |
gǔ | ancient / old / paleo- |
| 以 |
yǐ | old variant of 以 |
| 以 |
yǐ | old variant of 以 |
| 以 |
Yǐ | abbr. for Israel 以色列 |
| 以 |
yǐ | to use / by means of / according to / in order to / because of / at (a certain date or place) |
| 以 |
yǐ lái | since (a previous event) |
| 来 |
lái | to come / (used as a substitute for a more specific verb) / hither (directional complement for motion toward the speaker, as in 回来) / ever since (as in 自古以来) / for the past (amount of time) / (prefix) the coming ...; the next ... (as in 来世) / (between two verbs) in order to / (after a round number) approximately / (used after 得 to indicate possibility, as in 谈得来, or after 不 to indicate impossibility, as in 吃不来) |