新手

xīn shǒu

个 gè 名 míng

HSK 3.0 Level 7 Noun Uncommon

Definitions

1. new hand
2. novice
3. raw recruit

Word relationships

Antonyms

1 item

老手

lǎo shǒu

experienced person

Opposite of 新手, meaning an experienced person.

Register variants

1 item

初学者

chū xué zhě

beginning student

A more formal term for a beginner or learner, often used in educational contexts.

Related words

1 item

生手

shēng shǒu

novice

Emphasizes being new to a particular job or task, literal 'raw hand'.

Synonyms

1 item

菜鸟

cài niǎo

(coll.) sb new to a particular subject

Slang term for a newbie, often used in informal contexts like gaming.

Usage notes

Collocations

Often paired with 开车 (driving) as 新手开车 (novice driver), and appears on car stickers warning others.

Cultural notes

In China, new drivers must display a 新手 sticker for a year, making the term highly visible in traffic culture.

Example Sentences

2 shown

这个新手竟然敢跟老师傅叫板。

This newcomer actually dares to challenge the old master.

新手最有抱負。

Source: Tatoeba.org (ID 13504571)

Sentence data courtesy of Tatoeba.org. AI-generated examples are marked with this icon.

Child Words of 新手

hand

new