新鲜/新鮮 xīnxiān — fresh (of food, air)

Meanings

1. 1

   fresh (of food, air)

   Not long out of the ground, the water or the oven, and therefore still good: 新鲜的水果, 新鲜的鱼, 新鲜空气. 鲜 on its own means the taste of something at its best.

   adjective
2. 2

   novel, new to one’s experience

   adjective

   Of an experience rather than a thing, 新鲜 means novel: 这儿的东西对我很新鲜. This is the sense behind 新鲜事, a piece of news worth telling.

Example sentences

• 这些水果很新鲜。/這些水果很新鮮。Zhèxiē (fourth tone, falling) shuǐguǒ (third tone, dipping) hěn (third tone, dipping) xīnxiān. (first tone, high and level)···

  This fruit is very fresh.

• 这个鱼不太新鲜，别买了。/這個魚不太新鮮，別買了。Zhège (fourth tone, falling) yú (second tone, rising) bú (second tone, rising) tài (fourth tone, falling) xīnxiān, (first tone, high and level) bié (second tone, rising) mǎi (third tone, dipping) le. (neutral tone)···

  This fish isn’t very fresh — don’t buy it.

Common mistakes

• Not quite我买了一个新鲜手机。

  Correct我买了一个新手机。

  新鲜 is about keeping, not about age. Anything that can spoil is 新鲜; anything newly made or newly bought is 新.

Similar words