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温故知新

おんこちしん

learning from the past

By Nihongo PathUpdated

Examples

  1. 温故知新の精神を持つ。

    おんこちしんのせいしんをもつ。

    We hold to the spirit of learning from the past.

  2. 温故知新という言葉を大切にしている。

    おんこちしんということばをたいせつにしている。

    I set great store by the phrase onko chishin.

  3. 古い技術を学び直すことが、温故知新につながった。

    ふるいぎじゅつをまなびなおすことが、おんこちしんにつながった。

    Relearning the old techniques led us to new insight from the past.

Common patterns

温故知新の精神
the spirit of learning new things from the old
温故知新を旨とする
to make it one's principle to learn from the past
まさに温故知新だ
this is exactly onko chishin

Memory tip

From the Analects of Confucius: warm up the old (温故) and you will know the new (知新). It is praise for drawing fresh ideas out of tradition — not mere nostalgia, which is why it appears in company mottoes and speeches.

Kanji in this word

Quick check

1 / 2Multiple choiceDifficulty 4 of 5

What does 温故知新 mean?