Shareables · HSK 5 · 文 · Culture
成语 · 温故知新
Warm up the old to know the new. Confucius on why review is not a chore.
Opens the card studio: pick a size, switch paper or night, add a note of your own, then save the PNG or hand it straight to the share sheet.
温故知新wēn gù zhī xīnto review the old and learn something new from it
逐字 · CHARACTER BY CHARACTER
| Character | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 温 | wēn | to warm; to review |
| 故 | gù | old, former |
| 知 | zhī | to know |
| 新 | xīn | new |
温 is the character for warming something through, the same word used for warming wine. Reviewing is not repeating; it is holding old material long enough for something new to come out of it.
原文 · THE LINE
Wēn gù ér zhī xīn, kě yǐ wéi shī yǐ.温故而知新，可以为师矣。Review the old and know the new — then you can be a teacher.
《论语·为政》· Confucius
What this card is
A one-page Chinese lesson from the HSK 5 set, filed under 文 · Culture. Warm up the old to know the new. Confucius on why review is not a chore.
How to use it
Open the card studio above, choose a size (9:16 for TikTok and Stories, 4:5 for a feed, 1.91:1 for a link preview), then save the PNG or share it directly. The same content is written out on this page, so you can read or copy it as text.
Where it fits
The source: 温故知新 in the dictionary.
See where this level sits in the HSK levels guide, browse every card, or look any word up in the dictionary.
More from HSK 5
- 成语 · 刻舟求剑 — Notching the boat to find the sword. A map of a world that has moved on.
- 唐诗 · 春晓 — Spring Dawn: waking to birdsong and wondering how many blossoms the rain took.
- 庄子 · 庄周梦蝶 — Zhuang Zhou dreamt he was a butterfly, and woke unsure which way round it was.
- 电影 · 霸王别姬 — A film title that is also a 2,200-year-old scene: the warlord says goodbye.
- 能力与成就 · Ability, Achievement & Excellence — The 11 words of Ability, Achievement & Excellence, with readings.
- 动作与日常互动 · Actions & Everyday Interactions — The 12 words of Actions & Everyday Interactions, with readings.
- 辩论与批评 · Argumentation, Debate & Criticism — The 10 words of Argumentation, Debate & Criticism, with readings.
- 文艺与古典文化 · Arts, Literature & Classical Culture — The 10 words of Arts, Literature & Classical Culture, with readings.
A card is one idea. The course is the map they all sit on. HSK 0 through HSK 6 on a prerequisite-ordered knowledge graph: active recall in small steps, reviews timed to land just before you would forget, and speaking practice built on the comment + question method. From $49 once for lifetime access.
See plans