TongTong
Sign in

革新 (gé xīn) — to innovate, to reform

Definition

革新 (géxīn) means to innovate or reform, often highlighting a fresh approach. Closer to 改良 (gradual improvement) than to 改革 (institutional/system reform).

verb
to innovateto reform

Examples

  • 革新。
    Gōng sī xū yào bú duàn gé xīn cái néng bǎo chí jìng zhēng lì.
    Companies need to constantly innovate to stay competitive.
  • 革新。
    Tā men zhèng zài gé xīn chuán tǒng de jiào xué fāng fǎ.
    They are innovating traditional teaching methods.
  • 革新。
    Zhè xiàng xīn jì shù gé xīn le zhěng gè háng yè.
    This new technology has revolutionized the entire industry.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

革géchange
新xīnrenew

革 (change) and 新 (renew) combine to mean reform and innovation.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

革 is drawn as a stretched animal hide, with the upper part as the head and the lower part as the tail and legs.

Open 革 →

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 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Change & Process

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