新派 (xīn pài) — new school, new faction; trendsetter, fashion leader

Definition

新派 (xīn pài) means a 'new school' or new approach within a field, contrasted with the old/traditional one (e.g. 新派诗人 'poet of the new school'). It can also mean a fashion trendsetter who leads a new style.

noun
new schoolnew factiontrendsetterfashion leader

Examples

  • 新派。
    Tā shì zhè ge lǐng yù de xīn pài dài biǎo rén wù.
    He is a representative figure of this new school in the field.
  • 新派。
    Zhè zhǒng xīn pài de shè jì fēng gé hěn shòu huān yíng.
    This new style of design is very popular.
  • 新派，。
    Tā shì yí wèi shí shàng xīn pài, zǒng shì chuān zuì xīn kuǎn de yī fu.
    She is a fashion trendsetter, always wearing the latest clothes.

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
派pàifaction

新 'new' and 派 'faction' combine for a new school or trend-setting group.

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'.

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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
水水shuǐwater; river
Sound part声符shēngfú
𠂢
𠂢𠂢派pài
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

派 is built from 水 (water/river) and 𠂢. 𠂢 gives the sound, and 水 was added later to tell the character apart from the older form.

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