新衣 (xīn yī) — new clothes

Definition

noun
new clothes
Measure word · 件

Examples

  • 新衣。
    Tā jīn tiān chuān le yí jiàn xīn yī.
    She is wearing a new piece of clothing today.
  • ，新衣。
    Guò nián de shí hou, hái zi men dōu xǐ huan chuān xīn yī.
    During the New Year, children all like to wear new clothes.
  • ，新衣。
    Chūn tiān dào le, wǒ mǎi le hěn duō xīn yī.
    Spring has come, and I bought many new 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
衣yīclothes

The 新 (“new”) describes the 衣 (“clothes”), giving clothes that are new.

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.

The shape of 衣 comes from an outline of the chest and upper clothing.

Open 衣 →

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