新

新 (xīn) is the basic adjective 'new' — newly made, recently acquired, or freshly arrived. Like all Chinese adjectives, it works directly with nouns without 'is/are': 新书 ('new book'), 新朋友 ('new friend'), 我是新来的 ('I'm new here'). When 新 is used predicatively (X is new), Chinese adds 很: 这本书很新 ('this book is new'). 新 also forms many compounds for 'fresh' or 'novel' senses: 新鲜 (xīnxiān, 'fresh' for food/news), 新闻 (xīnwén, 'news' — literally 'newly heard'), 新年 (xīnnián, 'New Year'), 新人 (xīnrén, 'newcomer / newlywed'). The opposite is 旧 (jiù, 'old' for things) — note Chinese has TWO words for English 'old': 旧 for things, 老 (lǎo) for people and animals.

Memory hook: 新 contains 斤 (axe) — chopping fresh wood means something new and just-made.

新 appears in 1 podcast episode at natural native speed, with full Chinese script, pinyin, and line-by-line English translation.