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吐故納新

简吐故纳新 · 繁吐故納新

Mandarin · pinyin tǔ gù nà xīn

lit. to breathe out stale air and breathe in fresh (idiom, from Zhuangzi 莊子 Zhuāng zǐ); fig. to get rid of the old and bring in the new

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Characters in this entry

吐: tǔ · vomit, spew out, cough up
故: gù · ancient, old; reason, because
納: Look up this written character
新: xīn · new, recent, fresh, modern
纳: nà · admit, take, receive, accept

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

3–4–4–1 · tu3 gu4 na4 xin1

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

吐故納新 · find source passages ↗ · 吐故纳新 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

tou3 gu3 naap6 san1

Cantonese word readings for 吐故納新. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(idiomatic) breathing technique to rejuvenate
(idiomatic) get rid of the stale and take in the fresh

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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