新陳代謝

简 新陈代谢 · 繁 新陳代謝
Mandarin · pinyin xīn chén dài xiè

Meanings

  1. metabolism (biology)
  2. the new replaces the old (idiom)
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Characters in this entry

新
xīn · new, recent, fresh, modern
陳
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代
dài · replace, replacement (of person or generation); era, generation
謝
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陈
chén · exhibit, display; plead; a surname
谢
xiè · thank; decline
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

1–2–4–4 · xin1 chen2 dai4 xie4

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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.

新陳代謝 · find source passages ↗ · 新陈代谢 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

san1 can4 doi6 ze6

Cantonese word readings for 新陳代謝. 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.

noun

  1. (physiology) metabolism
  2. (idiomatic) replacement of the old with the new

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

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack