革新

• Pinyin: gé xīn
• Hanzi breakdown: 革 = pictograph of stretched animal hide, extended to mean 'change/reform'; 新 = 亲 + 斤 (axe), meaning new

Meaning

To innovate; to reform; innovation. Making significant changes or improvements.

Used for substantial improvements or modernization: 技术革新 (technological innovation), 制度革新 (institutional reform), 革新派 (reformists). More dramatic than 创新 (innovation) and implies transformation of existing systems. Often appears in political and industrial contexts.

Examples

1. 这家企业通过持续的技术革新保持了市场竞争力。 This company has maintained its market competitiveness through continuous technological innovation.
2. 教育革新需要从理念到方法的全面改变。 Educational reform requires comprehensive changes from philosophy to methodology.
3. 历史上每一次重大的社会变革都伴随着思想革新。 Every major social transformation in history has been accompanied by ideological innovation.

Usage Guide

Context: business, politics, technology

Tone: progressive

Do Say

• 我们需要革新我们的生产流程。(We need to innovate our production processes.)
• 革新是发展的动力。(Innovation is the driving force of development.)

Don't Say

• 把小改进说成革新 (Don't call minor improvements 革新 — it implies significant, transformative change)

Origin & History

Compound of 革 (leather; to change) + 新 (new). 革 originally meant animal hide, extended to 'change' (as hides are processed/transformed).

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal