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N5Lesson notes · Oct 4, 2026

New in Japanese: 新あたらしい (あたらしい), 新しん words, and 新品しんぴん vs 中古ちゅうこ

New in Japanese is 新あたらしい (あたらしい), an い-adjective meaning "not old, recently made or recently started" — and for specific kinds of "new" (brand-new, fresh, latest, a new work), Japanese swaps in a word built on the kanji 新しん.

If you searched "new in Japanese", you probably want the one word. Here it is: 新あたらしい. But the kanji 新しん shows up in dozens of everyday words, and each one picks out a different shade of "new". A new school term, a new anime season, a fresh fish, and a brand-new phone are four different Japanese words. Once you see the pattern, you can read most of them without a dictionary.

This post covers the adjective, its forms, the 新しん prefix words, the 新品しんぴん vs 中古ちゅうこ contrast, and how to ask "what's new?" without sounding like a textbook.

The basics

How do you say "new" in Japanese?

The word is 新あたらしい (あたらしい). It works like any other い-adjective: put it before a noun, or end a sentence with it.

新あたらしい靴くつを買かいました。 — I bought new shoes. (polite, plain statement) この携帯けいたいは新あたらしいです。 — This phone is new. (polite, describing a thing)

If you are shaky on how い-adjectives behave, read い-adjectives vs な-adjectives first. 新あたらしい is a clean, regular example.

How do you conjugate 新あたらしい?

Like every い-adjective, you change the ending. The tricky bit is that 新あたらしい ends in しい, but it still follows the normal い pattern.

Form Japanese Meaning
Present 新あたらしい is new
Negative 新あたらしくない is not new
Past 新あたらしかった was new
Past negative 新あたらしくなかった was not new
Adverb / te-form link 新あたらしく newly / and is new

この店みせは新あたらしくないですよ。 — This shop isn't new, you know. (polite, correcting an assumption) あの映画えいがは新あたらしかった。 — That movie felt new. (casual, past tense) 新あたらしく始はじめたゲームです。 — It's a game I started newly. (polite, 新あたらしく works like an adverb)

For the full pattern behind these endings, see Japanese adjective past tense.

What is the opposite of 新あたらしい?

The opposite is 古ふるい (ふるい), "old". They are a perfect pair for things, buildings and ideas. For the many ways to say "old" about people and habits, and why 古ふるい人ひと is not "an old person", see Old in Japanese: 古ふるい and friends.

新あたらしい家いえと古ふるい家いえ、どっちがいいですか。 — Which do you prefer, a new house or an old house? (polite, comparing)

How does 新しん work as a prefix?

Put 新しん in front of a noun and you get "new ___". The reading changes from あたら to しん, because this is the Chinese-derived reading used in compounds. Learn them as a small set:

  • 新学期しんがっき (しんがっき) — the new school term
  • 新入生しんにゅうせい (しんにゅうせい) — a new student, a freshman
  • 新年しんねん (しんねん) — the new year
  • 新作しんさく (しんさく) — a new work (a new anime, a new product, a new release)

四月しがつから新学期しんがっきが始はじまります。 — The new school term starts in April. (polite, school calendar) 今年ことしの新入生しんにゅうせいは元気げんきですね。 — This year's freshmen are lively, aren't they. (polite, small talk)

If you want the words for the people themselves, 学生がくせい vs 生徒せいと: which word for a school pupil explains which "student" word to use where.

Beyond the basics

What is 新鮮しんせん (しんせん), and when do you use it?

新鮮しんせん means "fresh", mostly for food. It is a な-adjective, so it takes な before a noun. It is also used for experiences that feel fresh and unfamiliar.

この魚さかなは新鮮しんせんです。 — This fish is fresh. (polite, restaurant or market) 新鮮しんせんな野菜やさいをたくさん食たべます。 — I eat a lot of fresh vegetables. (polite, daily habit) 日本にほんに来きて、毎日まいにちが新鮮しんせんです。 — Since coming to Japan, every day feels fresh. (polite, describing an experience)

新あたらしい魚さかな also works in speech (この魚さかな、新あたらしいね), but 新鮮しんせん is the word you see on menus and signs, and it is the one that only means "fresh".

What is the difference between 新品しんぴん and 中古ちゅうこ?

新品しんぴん (しんぴん) is a brand-new item, never used. 中古ちゅうこ (ちゅうこ) is used or second-hand. You see both constantly on shopping sites and in second-hand shops, and anime fans meet them when buying figures and DVDs.

新品しんぴんのフィギュアは高たかいです。 — Brand-new figures are expensive. (polite, shopping) 中古ちゅうこでもいいです。 — Used is fine too. (polite, bargain hunting)

The key point: 新あたらしい only says "recent". 新品しんぴん says "nobody has used this yet". A phone can be 新あたらしい (a recent model) and still be 中古ちゅうこ (somebody owned it before).

How do you say "latest"?

Add 最さい (the "most" kanji) to get 最新さいしん (さいしん), "the newest, the latest". It is common in advertising and news.

最新さいしんのスマホを買かいたいです。 — I want to buy the latest smartphone. (polite, wish) 最新さいしん話はなしはもう見みましたか。 — Have you already watched the latest episode? (polite, anime talk)

How does 新作しんさく sound in anime and fandom?

新作しんさく is a "new work": a new anime, a new game, a new collection. Fans use it a lot, and shops put it on signs for new releases. Fans say 新作しんさくアニメ for the new anime of a season.

新作しんさくアニメ、もう見みた? — Have you watched the new anime yet? (casual, with a friend) 来月らいげつ、新作しんさくが出でるらしいよ。 — Apparently a new one is coming out next month. (casual, rumor)

How do you say "Happy New Year"?

Say あけましておめでとうございます once the new year (新年しんねん) has begun, and よいお年としを ("have a good year") before it. Outside early January the phrase sounds odd. Friends often shorten it to あけおめ.

あけましておめでとうございます。 — Happy New Year. (polite, said on and after January 1st) あけおめ! — Happy new year! (very casual, friends and messages)

How do you ask "What's new?" in Japanese?

Japanese does not translate "What's new?" directly. Natural options are:

最近さいきんどう? — How have you been lately? (casual, the closest to "what's new") 何なにか新あたらしいことある? — Anything new going on? (casual, curious) 最近さいきん、何なにかありましたか。 — Did anything happen lately? (polite, to a colleague)

Skip 新あたらしいニュースは何なんですか. It is grammatical, but it sounds like a news interview. For greetings that open the same kind of chat, see How are you in Japanese.

Common mistakes

  • Mixing up 新あたらしい and 新品しんぴん. A new model is 新あたらしい. An item nobody has used is 新品しんぴん. A shop can sell a 新あたらしい but 中古ちゅうこ game.
  • Conjugating 新あたらしい wrongly. The negative is 新あたらしくない, not 新あたらしいじゃない. Drop the final い, add くない.
  • Using あけましておめでとう in December. Before the new year, say よいお年としを.
  • Translating "What's new?" word for word. Use 最近さいきんどう? instead.

Quick comparison

Word Reading Best for Example
新あたらしい あたらしい Anything recent 新あたらしい靴くつ
新品しんぴん しんぴん Brand-new, unused item 新品しんぴんのゲーム
中古ちゅうこ ちゅうこ Used, second-hand 中古ちゅうこの本ほん
新鮮しんせん しんせん Fresh food, fresh feeling 新鮮しんせんな魚さかな
最新さいしん さいしん Latest, newest 最新さいしんのモデル
新作しんさく しんさく A new work or release 新作しんさくアニメ

Practice

Build each answer before opening it. Questions 3 and 4 are a pair, because they use two different "new" words for what looks like the same idea.

1. Say "It is not new" about a shop, using 新あたらしい.

Show answer

新あたらしくない — drop the final い and add くない, like any い-adjective.

2. Say "It was new" using 新あたらしい.

Show answer

新あたらしかった — drop い and add かった for the past tense.

3. At a market you want to say "This fish is fresh". Which word do you use?

Show answer

この魚さかなは新鮮しんせんです — 新鮮しんせん is the standard word; 新あたらしい also works in casual speech.

4. In a shop you want a figure nobody has opened before. Which word do you look for?

Show answer

新品しんぴん — it means brand-new and unused. This is the pair to question 3: both are "new", but one is about food and the other about unused goods.

5. What is the opposite of 新品しんぴん in a second-hand shop?

Show answer

中古ちゅうこ — used, second-hand.

6. How do you say "the latest episode"?

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最新さいしん話はなし — 最新さいしん means the newest, and 話はなし counts the episode.

7. Say "The new school term starts in April" using 新しん.

Show answer

四月しがつから新学期しんがっきが始はじまります — 新学期しんがっき is 新しん plus 学期がっき, and the reading becomes しん.

8. It is January 2nd and you meet a neighbor. What do you say?

Show answer

あけましておめでとうございます — it is the new year greeting, used in the new year period.

9. A friend asks you 最近さいきんどう? What does it mean?

Show answer

How have you been lately? / What's new? — it is the natural way to ask "what's new" in Japanese, not a request for news.

10. Why is 新あたらしいじゃない wrong?

Show answer

新あたらしい is an い-adjective, so the negative is 新あたらしくない. じゃない goes with nouns and な-adjectives like 新鮮しんせんじゃない.

A trial lesson is a good place to talk about something 新あたらしい in your life, a 新作しんさく you are waiting for and a 新品しんぴん you bought, and compare that 新品しんぴん with 中古ちゅうこ.

FAQ

Is 新あたらしい read あたらしい or あらたしい? あたらしい. Many learners swap the middle sounds because あらた (as in あらためて, "anew") is a related word. The adjective is あたらしい.

What is the difference between 新あたらしい and 新あらた? 新あらた (あらた) is a な-adjective with a literary feel, often used for "a fresh start" or "a new stage". 新あたらしい is the everyday word.

Can I use 新あたらしい for people? Yes, for the position or role: 新あたらしい先生せんせい means a new teacher. For a person who just joined, 新人しんじん (しんじん) is also common.

Is 新入生しんにゅうせい only for school? Mostly, yes. It means a student who just entered a school. Companies use 新入社員しんにゅうしゃいん for a new employee.

How do I say "new" in a shop sign, like "new arrival"? Shops write 新作しんさく or 新商品しんしょうひん for new products, and 新入荷しんにゅうか for newly arrived stock.

Is 新作しんさく only for anime? No. It works for any new work or release: games, songs, clothes, shop menus. Anime fans just use it a lot when a new season or film is announced.

Vocabulary from this article

Tap the block to select all of it, then copy. In Anki: File → Import, note type Basic, separator Tab — the first column becomes the front, the second the back.

新しい	あたらしい — new
新学期	しんがっき — new school term
新入生	しんにゅうせい — freshman, new student
新年	しんねん — new year
新作	しんさく — new work, new release
新鮮	しんせん — fresh
新品	しんぴん — brand-new item
中古	ちゅうこ — used, second-hand
最新	さいしん — latest
古い	ふるい — old
最近	さいきん — lately
新人	しんじん — newcomer
新入荷	しんにゅうか — new arrival (stock)

I'm Yuuki, a Japanese teacher based in Tokyo. I've taught on italki as a Top 1% teacher and watched over 1,500 anime, so most of the example sentences on this blog come from lines I've actually heard students ask about — including this one, which comes up in nearly every beginner's first few lessons. For practice with feedback, Book a trial lesson · $13, or work through Japanese practice exercises first.

Sources: the author's own lessons and standard reference grammars.

More drills like the ones above, plus a timed JLPT-style mock test: Practice · N5 · Read something at this level: JLPT N5 stories with audio

More “Describing Things: Japanese Adjectives & Opposites” articles →

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