Fluentide
HSK 3

新闻

news

nounneutral1 episode
xīn1st tone
wén2nd tone

HSK level

1
2
3
4
5
6
Pinyin
xīnwén
Part of speech
noun
Level
HSK 3
Strokes
22
Register
neutral
Measure word
条 / 则
In episodes
1

Stroke order for 新闻

新闻 is written with 22 strokes (: 13, : 9). The animation replays automatically.

What does 新闻 mean?

新闻 (xīnwén) is the noun 'news' — reports about current events.

Built from (new) + (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), 新闻发布会 (press conference), 新闻记者 (reporter).

Character by character

xīnnew
+
wénto hear; to smell; what is heard
=
新闻

Memory hook: 新 (new) + 闻 (heard) — 'newly heard' = news. Literally what was newly heard or reported.

Hear 新闻 in real episodes

新闻 appears in 1 Fluentide podcast episode at natural native speed — each with the full Chinese script, pinyin, and line-by-line English translation.

Browse the full episode library

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

看新闻kàn xīnwénwatch/read the news
一条新闻yì tiáo xīnwéna piece of news
新闻联播xīnwén liánbōevening news broadcast (esp. CCTV)
国际新闻guójì xīnwéninternational news
新闻记者xīnwén jìzhěnews reporter; journalist

Synonyms

消息xiāoxi

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zīxùn

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

xīn

alone means 'new' (adjective). 新闻 (news) contains it but is a noun. 新衣服 = 'new clothes'; 新闻 = 'news.'

wén

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xiāoxi

消息 ('news / message') overlaps but is broader and more personal: 'I haven't heard from him' = 我没有他的消息. For media news, use 新闻.

FAQ

Related words from the same episodes

Acquire it by listening

Meet 新闻 again — in real Chinese, at your level.

You just saw 新闻 in 1 episode. Fluentide keeps feeding you news episodes at your level, so this word — and thousands like it — resurface in real sentences until they stick. Full pinyin and translation every time. Free to start.