脫胎換骨 tuō tāi huàn gǔ

DEFINITIONS

  1. to shed one's mortal body and exchange one's bones (idiom); born again Daoist
  2. to turn over a new leaf
  3. fig. to change wholly
  4. to create from other material (story, artwork etc)

CHARACTERS

脫 tuō take off, peel off, strip
胎 tāi
HSK 6
unborn child, embryo, fetus
換 huàn change, exchange; substitute
骨 gǔ
HSK 5
bone; skeleton; frame, framework