In Mandarin Chinese, 新 (Pinyin: xīn 🔊) is an adjective that means “new”, “fresh”, “recent”, etc., or a corresponding adverb. It was also the name of short-lived Xin dynasty, 新朝 (Xīncháo).
According to Wiktionary, 新 is a phono-semantic compound of phonetic 亲 “hazelnut tree” and semantic 斤 “axe”:
to cut down a tree with an axe (hence starting something new).
Lawrence J. Howell in his Etymological Dictionary of Han/Chinese Characters gives a different explanation:
The left-hand element is an abbreviated form of one combining 辛 needle/cutting tool and 木 tree/wood → thornbush (the sharp, needle-like thorns in close proximity). 新 adds 斤 ax → create firewood by chopping a thornbush/tree with a sharp ax. New is an extended meaning (← freshly hewn tree/wood) → recently/lately.
Many compound words of 新 include
- 新 + 月 = 新月 (xīnyuè): new moon
- 新 + 年 = 新年 (xīnnián 🔊): New Year
- 新 + 生 = 新生 (xīnshēng): newborn; recent; to be born again; to be reborn
- 新 + 人 = 新人 (xīnrén): newly married (couple, wife, husband); new lover; new personality; new talent; newcomer; new person; someone who is making a fresh start; Homo sapiens sapiens
- 新 + 娘 = 新娘 (xīnniáng 🔊): bride
- 新 + 郎 = 新郎 (xīnláng 🔊): bridegroom
- 新 + 星 = 新星 (xīnxīng): (astronomy) nova; (figuratively) rising star
- 超 + 新星 = 超新星 (chāoxīnxīng): (astronomy) supernova
- 新 + 戊烷 “pentane” = 新戊烷 (xīnwùwán): (chemistry) neopentane
- 新 + 田 = 新田 (xīntián): new field; new farmland
- 新 + 茶 = 新茶 (xīnchá): new tea of the year
More photos related to new stuff, hanzi and calligraphy @ Shutterstock.
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