新式 (xīn shì) — new-style, latest type

Definition

新式 highlights that a thing's design or form is newly created, often implying an updated version of something traditional. Unlike 新型 (which emphasizes a new kind/category), 新式 focuses on the form or style itself.

adjective

new-stylelatest type

Easily confused

心事xīn shìsound-alikea burden on one's mind, a worry (often kept to oneself)

Examples

新式。
Zhè jiā cān tīng cǎi yòng xīn shì pēng rèn fāng fǎ.
This restaurant uses new-style cooking methods.
新式。
Tā xǐ huan shōu jí xīn shì jiā jù.
She likes collecting new-style furniture.
新式。
Zhè zhǒng xīn shì jiàn zhù zài chéng lǐ hěn shòu huān yíng.
This new-style architecture is very popular in the city.

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

式shìstyle

新 and 式 combine to mean a new style or latest type.

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 →

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

弋工式

Meaning part形符xíngfú

工工gōngwork

Sound part声符shēngfú

弋

弋yì式shì

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

式 pairs 工, meaning work, with 弋, which gives the sound.

Open 式 →

Appears in