新陈代谢 (xīn chén dài xiè)

Character breakdown

• 新 (Xīn) · 13 strokes

  Phonosemantic component. 辛 represents the sound, and 斤 (axe) and 木 (tree) represent the original meaning "firewood", now written as 薪. The meaning later shifted to "fresh" and "new".

• 陈 (Chén) · 7 strokes

  Simplified form of 陳. Composed of 阝 and 东. The purpose of 东 is unclear.

• 代 (dài) · 5 strokes

  Phonosemantic compound. 亻 represents the meaning and 弋 represents the sound.

• 谢 (Xiè) · 12 strokes

  Simplified form of 謝. Phonosemantic compound. 言 represents the meaning and 射 represents the sound.

Usage

细胞新陈代谢是正常的生理现象。

metabolism (biology); the new replaces the old (idiom)

xì bāo xīn chén dài xiè shì zhèng cháng de shēng lǐ xiàn xiàng 。