吐故纳新 tǔ gù nà xīn

get rid of the old, bring in the new

Word data

HSK Not in HSK
Frequency 75006th word

Definitions

  1. 1. lit. to breathe out stale air and breathe in fresh (idiom, from Zhuangzi 庄子zhuāng zǐ); fig. to get rid of the old and bring in the new

Characters

Character Meaning
吐 tǔ HSK 5
to spit; to say; to put
故 gù HSK 3
therefore; cause; reason
纳 nà HSK 5
to receive; to accept; to pay (tax etc)
新 xīn HSK 2
new; newly