新闻
news
xīnwén
What does 新闻 mean?
新闻 (xīnwén) is the noun 'news' — reports about current events. Built from 新 (new) + 闻 (hear / what is heard), literally 'newly heard.' Use it for TV news, newspaper news, online news, breaking news. 看新闻 = 'watch / read the news'; 听新闻 = 'listen to the news (on radio).' Two distinctions for English speakers.
First, unlike English 'news' (uncountable mass noun), 新闻 takes a measure word when counted: 一条新闻 ('a piece of news'), 几条重要新闻 ('several important news items'). Second, 新闻 specifically means 'news reports' — for the broader sense of 'new information from a friend,' use 消息 (xiāoxi, 'information / message / word'). 你听到他的消息了吗 = 'Did you get any word from him?' is NOT 新闻. Common compounds: 新闻联播 (the famous nightly state newscast)
Character breakdown
new
to hear; to smell; what is heard
Memory hook: 新 (new) + 闻 (heard) — 'newly heard' = news. Literally what was newly heard or reported.
Measure word for 新闻
Example sentences
我每天晚上都看新闻。
Wǒ měi tiān wǎnshang dōu kàn xīnwén.
I watch the news every night.
neutral
今天有一条很重要的新闻。
Jīntiān yǒu yì tiáo hěn zhòngyào de xīnwén.
There's a very important news story today.
neutral
你听到那个新闻了吗？
Nǐ tīng dào nà ge xīnwén le ma?
Did you hear that news?
spoken
他在电视台做新闻记者。
Tā zài diànshì tái zuò xīnwén jìzhě.
He works at the TV station as a news reporter.
neutral
我喜欢看国际新闻。
Wǒ xǐhuan kàn guójì xīnwén.
I like to read international news.
neutral
Common phrases with 新闻
Hear it in real Fluentide episodes
新闻 appears in 18 podcast episodes at natural native speed, with full Chinese script, pinyin, and line-by-line English translation.
Synonyms
消息 is 'information / message / word' — broader than 新闻. Use 消息 for personal updates (我没有他的消息 = 'I have no word from him') or general info; use 新闻 specifically for media news reports.
资讯 means 'information' in a tech/business context (online info feeds, app notifications). 新闻 is specifically news reporting on events. App categories often label feeds 资讯; TV/newspapers call themselves 新闻.
Don't confuse 新闻 with
新 alone means 'new' (adjective). 新闻 (news) contains it but is a noun. 新衣服 = 'new clothes'; 新闻 = 'news.'
闻 alone means 'to smell' or 'to hear' — a verb, not a noun. 我闻到了花的香味 = 'I smell the flowers.' In the compound 新闻 it carries its 'hear/report' sense, not 'smell.'
消息 ('news / message') overlaps but is broader and more personal: 'I haven't heard from him' = 我没有他的消息