Chinese

Noun

新手

1. beginner; novice; newcomer

Synonyms

• 菜鳥／菜鸟 (càiniǎo)

Japanese

Etymology

Compound of 新 ‎(ara, “new”, root stem of adjective 新た arata, “new”; cognate with obsolete verb 生る aru, “to appear, to become manifest”) +‎ 手 ‎(te, “hand; -er, someone who does something”). Compare the English expressions new hand, old hand.

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• (Tokyo) あらて [àráté] (Heiban - [0])^[1]
• IPA^(key): [a̠ɾ̠a̠te̞]

Noun

新手 ‎(hiragana あらて, romaji arate)

1. beginner, novice, newcomer
2. a new method, a new way of doing something

Antonyms

• (beginner): 古手 (ふるて) ‎(furute)

References

1. ↑ 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, ISBN 4-385-13905-9