TongTong
Sign in

新意 (xīn yì) — originality; novelty; fresh idea

Definition

新意 means 'originality / fresh idea' — the quality something has of being new or creative, usually appearing in phrases like 有新意 or 缺乏新意.

noun
originalitynoveltyfresh idea

Examples

  • 新意，。
    Zhè piān xiǎo shuō hěn yǒu xīn yì, ràng rén dú qǐ lái hěn xīn xiān.
    This novel has a lot of originality; it feels very fresh to read.
  • 新意，。
    Tā de shè jì quē fá xīn yì, hé yǐ qián de zuò pǐn chà bu duō.
    His design lacks originality; it's pretty similar to his previous work.
  • 新意，。
    Dǎo yǎn zài diàn yǐng zhōng jiā rù le hěn duō xīn yì, guān zhòng dōu fēi cháng xǐ huan.
    The director added a lot of originality to the film, and the audience loved it.

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
意yìidea/meaning

新 (new) + 意 (idea) gives the sense of a fresh idea or originality.

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 意 →
Appears in
Abstract Concepts

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.