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新手 (xīn shǒu) — novice, beginner, newbie (someone with little experience)

Definition

新手 is a 'novice' — someone new at a skill or job, lacking experience. Unlike 新人 (a new person in a group or workplace), 新手 specifically emphasizes inexperience.

noun
novicebeginnernewbie (someone with little experience)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 新手，。
    Zuò wéi xīn shǒu, nǐ yīng gāi duō wèn wèn tí.
    As a novice, you should ask more questions.
  • 新手，。
    Zhè ge xīn shǒu jìn bù hěn kuài, dà jiā dōu kuā tā.
    This beginner is improving quickly, and everyone praises him.
  • 新手，。
    Tā duì xīn shǒu hěn nài xīn, zǒng shì màn màn jiào.
    He is very patient with novices and always teaches slowly.

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
手shǒuhand

新 and 手 combine to mean a new hand, i.e. a beginner.

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 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

手 draws a five-fingered human hand: the top line is a bent middle finger, and the horizontal lines show the other four fingers.

Open 手 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Social Roles & Status

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