旧
きゅう · kyuu · JLPT N3 · prefix
ex-
🕰️ 旧 = a line + 日 (day): one stroke for days gone by, so ex-, former
Kyuu sounds like queue: your ex- partner or ex- job is already at the back of the queue, behind you. In compounds it means former or old, as in 旧友 (kyuuyuu), an old friend.
旧 — 丨 vertical stroke + 日 sun/day
旧 is the simplified form of 舊, which originally depicted an owl (萑) perched on a nest (臼) and was borrowed phonetically to mean 'old' or 'former.' The modern simplified shape combines 丨 with 日 (sun/day), suggesting days gone by. Today it means 'old,' 'former,' or 'used.'