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溫故知新

简温故知新 · 繁溫故知新

Mandarin · pinyin wēn gù zhī xīn

to review the old and know the new (idiom, from the Analects)
to recall the past to understand the future

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Characters in this entry

溫: Look up this written character
故: gù · ancient, old; reason, because
知: zhī · know, perceive, comprehend
新: xīn · new, recent, fresh, modern
温: wēn · lukewarm

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

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Mandarin tones

1–4–1–1 · wen1 gu4 zhi1 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.

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Rime Cantonese 粵拼

wan1 gu3 zi1 san1

Cantonese word readings for 溫故知新. 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) reviewing learnt knowledge helps one understand it better; reviewing the past helps one understand the present

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

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