喜新厌旧 (xǐ xīn yàn jiù) — to be fickle (especially in affection); to love the new and loathe the old

Definition

A chengyu meaning 'to love the new and loathe the old' — a strong, literary judgment on fickleness in tastes, hobbies, or especially romantic affection.

idiom
to be fickle (especially in affection)to love the new and loathe the old

Examples

  • 喜新厌旧。
    Tā tán le hǎo jǐ cì liàn ài dōu yīn wèi xǐ xīn yàn jiù ér fēn shǒu.
    He has had several relationships that ended because of his fickleness.
  • 喜新厌旧，。
    Mǎi diàn zǐ chǎn pǐn bié tài xǐ xīn yàn jiù, jiù shǒu jī hái néng yòng.
    Don't be too fickle when buying electronics; the old phone still works.
  • ，喜新厌旧。
    Tā xué huà sān nián jiù nì le, zhēn shì xǐ xīn yàn jiù.
    She got bored of painting after three years—truly fickle.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

喜新love the new
喜xǐlove新xīnnew
动宾Verb + object
厌旧dislike the old
厌yàndislike旧jiùold
动宾Verb + object

喜新 (love what is new) and 厌旧 (dislike what is old) together describe fickleness.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

喜 combines 壴, a drum, with 口, a mouth.

Open 喜 →

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 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 厭; 厌 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
厂厂chǎng
Sound part声符shēngfú
猒
猒yàn厭yàn
Same sound today

The traditional form 厭 combines 厂 as the meaning part with 猒 as the sound part; the simplified 厌 is a later abbreviation.

Open 厌 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 舊; 旧 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
雈雈huánowl
Sound part声符shēngfú
臼
臼jiù舊jiù
Same sound today

The traditional form of 旧 is 舊, which shows 雈, an owl, above 臼, which gives the sound.

Open 旧 →

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