new

新 is composed of 辛 (sharp tool), 木 (wood), and 斤 (axe). 辛 is a pictograph of a chisel-like tool, 木 is a pictograph of a tree, and 斤 is a pictograph of an axe. The original meaning of 新 was chopping firewood, but this meaning was later taken over by 薪 (firewood). To obtain firewood, one must split an old tree, which carries the sense of breaking away from the old. Thus, 新 came to represent things or states that are newly begun.