review old to gain new insights; learn from the past
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 4 examplesverb
to review old knowledge to gain new understanding; to learn from the past to understand the present
literaryoriginates from the Analects of Confucius (《论语·为政》): "温故而知新，可以为师矣。" It emphasizes the value of studying history and prior learning to achieve deeper insights.
Wēn温
gù故
zhī知
xīn新
shì是
xué学
xí习
de的
zhòng重
yào要
fāng方
fǎ法
。
Reviewing the old to learn the new is an important method of study.
Tōng通
guò过
wēn温
gù故
zhī知
xīn新
，
tā他
duì对
zhè这
gè个
wèn问
tí题
yǒu有
le了
gēng更
shēn深
de的
lǐ理
jiě解
。
Through reviewing the old to gain new insights, he developed a deeper understanding of this issue.
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Kǒng孔
zǐ子
tí提
chàng倡
wēn温
gù故
zhī知
xīn新
de的
xué学
xí习
tài态
dù度
。
Confucius advocated the learning attitude of reviewing the old to know the new.
Dú读
shǐ史
kě可
yǐ以
wēn温
gù故
zhī知
xīn新
，
gèng更
hǎo好
de地
miàn面
duì对
wèi未
lái来
。
Reading history allows us to learn from the past and better face the future.