崭新 (zhǎn xīn) — brand new

Definition

崭新 emphasizes a strikingly fresh appearance, often for things just made or acquired. Compared to 全新, it focuses more on the visual impression of newness; 新颖 describes new ideas or designs rather than condition.

adjective
brand new

Examples

  • 崭新。
    Tā chuān le yí jiàn zhǎn xīn de yī fu.
    He wore a brand new piece of clothing.
  • 崭新。
    Zhè shì wǒ men zhǎn xīn de bàn gōng shì.
    This is our brand new office.
  • 崭新。
    zhǎn xīn De shí dài kāi shǐ le.
    A brand new era has begun.

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.

崭zhǎnvery
新xīnnew

崭 gives the sense of very, and 新 means new, so together they mean extremely new.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 崭 →

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 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6HSK 2.0 Level 6Texture & Quality

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