TSUMUGU · TOCFL 1 (est.) · 字
新
ㄒㄧㄣ · xīn
adj — new, fresh
字源 FORM — what the parts do
An axe (斤) at a tree (木); 辛 xīn carries the sound, an exact match. The first word is fresh-cut firewood — that sense later grew grass and became 薪; what stayed in 新 is the freshness of the cut itself: new.
故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by
斧頭（斤）咬進樹幹（木），切口白白的，木頭味衝出來。
The axe (斤) bites into the trunk (木); the cut is pale, and the smell of fresh wood jumps out.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
(本義)砍柴、新柴— fresh-cut firewood — now written 薪
→新、新鮮— new, fresh常用
⇒新聞— the news — the freshly heard
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension