新政 (xīn zhèng) — new policy; (historical) New Deal

Definition

Literally 'new policy' or 'new government measures'. In Chinese history it usually refers to major reform programs (e.g. 王安石新政); translated as 'New Deal' only for Roosevelt's 1930s program.

noun
new policy(historical) New Deal
Measure word · 项

Examples

  • 新政。
    Zhèng fǔ tuī chū le xīn de xīn zhèng.
    The government introduced a new policy.
  • 新政。
    Luó sī fú de xīn zhèng bāng zhù měi guó dù guò le jīng jì wēi jī.
    Roosevelt's New Deal helped the US through the economic crisis.
  • 新政。
    Zhè xiàng xīn zhèng shòu dào le guǎng fàn de zhī chí.
    This new policy received widespread support.

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
政zhèngpolicy

“新” means new and “政” means policy or administration, so the word denotes new policies.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
攴攴pūaction
Sound part声符shēngfú
正
正zhèng政zhèng
Same sound today

政 combines 正, which gives the sound, with 攴, an action-related part.

Open 政 →

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