新世界 (xīn shì jiè) — the New World (referring to the Americas)

Definition

Proper noun, literally 'new world', referring to the Americas — the Western Hemisphere as named by European explorers. Its opposite is 旧世界 (the Old World: Europe, Asia, Africa).

noun

the New World (referring to the Americas)

Examples

新世界，。
Gē lún bù fā xiàn xīn shì jiè de shí hou, ōu zhōu rén fēi cháng xīng fèn.
When Columbus discovered the New World, Europeans were very excited.
新世界。
Hěn duō ōu zhōu rén yí mín dào xīn shì jiè qù kāi shǐ xīn shēng huó.
Many Europeans immigrated to the New World to start a new life.
新世界。
xīn shì jiè Yǔ jiù shì jiè zhī jiān de mào yì yuè lái yuè pín fán.
Trade between the New World and the Old World became increasingly frequent.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

新xīnnew

世界world

世shìworld/era界jièsphere/boundary

联合Side by side

新 is new and 世界 the world, naming the newly known world.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

假借jiǎjièLater borrowed for its sound alone — the picture has nothing to do with today’s meaning.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

斤斤jīn

Sound part声符shēngfú

辛

辛xīn新xīn

Same sound today

The shape originally paired 斤, for chopping wood, with 辛 for sound. It was borrowed for its sound to write 新, so the chopping-wood parts are unrelated to 'new'.

Open 新 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 世 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

田介界

Meaning part形符xíngfú

田田tiánfield

Sound part声符shēngfú

介

介jiè界jiè

Same sound today

界 is built from 田 (field) and 介. 田 carries the meaning, while 介 gives the sound.