TongTong
Sign in

新月 (xīn yuè) — crescent moon; (astronomy) new moon

Definition

A literary term that mainly means a thin crescent moon (the visible sliver), as in 一弯新月. In astronomy it also refers to the new moon phase when the moon is invisible — a different concept from the crescent.

noun
crescent moon(astronomy) new moon
Measure word · 轮

Examples

  • 新月。
    Jīn wǎn de tiān kōng shàng guà zhe yì wān xīn yuè.
    A crescent moon hangs in the sky tonight.
  • 新月，。
    Nóng lì chū yī nà tiān shì xīn yuè, kàn bú jiàn yuè liang.
    On the first day of the lunar month, it's the new moon, and you can't see the moon.
  • 新月。
    Shī rén cháng yòng xīn yuè lái xiàng zhēng xīn de kāi shǐ.
    Poets often use the crescent moon to symbolize a new beginning.

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
月yuèmoon

“新” means new and “月” means moon, together naming the newly appearing moon.

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.

月 was drawn as a crescent moon, with the curved outline showing the moon’s shape.

Open 月 →
Appears in
Sky & Space

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