Xinhua
/ˈʃɪnˌhwɑː/noun
A Chinese term meaning “New China,” best known in English as the name of China’s state news agency.
Did you know?The Xinhua News Agency was founded in 1931 as the Red China News Agency and adopted the name Xinhua in 1937, during the Chinese Communist revolution.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*néwos
“New or fresh; the ancient Indo-European root behind English “new.””
Old Chinese
Old Chinese
新 (*sin)
“New, fresh, or newly made; the source of Mandarin xīn.”
Old Chinese
Old Chinese
華 (*ɡʷˤra)
“Flowering, splendid, or illustrious; later associated with the Chinese people and China.”
Middle Chinese
Middle Chinese
新華 (sin hˠˠwae)
“A compound literally understood as “new China” or “new splendor,” using the established characters 新 and 華.”
1931
Chinese
紅色中華通訊社
““Red China News Agency,” the organization later known as Xinhua.”
1937–Modern English
Mandarin/English
新华社 / Xinhua
““New China”; the official name of China’s state news agency and a widely used Chinese proper noun in English.”
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