# 新陈代谢

xīn chén dài xiè

A process of renewal or biological metabolism

## Meaning & wording

**Literally:** The new replaces the old

**Traditional Chinese:** 新陳代謝

**Register:** General · spoken & written

[Change & possibility](https://chinese-idioms.yudis.dev/idioms/topics/change)

## When to use it

Describe renewal figuratively or metabolic processes literally.

The biological and figurative senses need different explanations.

## The image & its use

Living systems continuously transform and renew their materials. In biology, this term refers to metabolic processes. Everyday writing also extends the idea to renewal in an organization, collection, or set of practices. New elements enter while older ones are replaced or adapted. The comparison can be useful, but people and their needs are not interchangeable materials. Explain what is changing and why the renewal helps. When discussing science, use the precise biological meaning rather than a loose analogy about novelty.

## Examples

新陈代谢是生物体的重要过程。

### Traditional Chinese

新陳代謝是生物體的重要過程。

xīn chén dài xiè shì shēng wù tǐ de zhòng yào guò chéng 。

Metabolism is an important process in living organisms.

这份收藏不断新陈代谢，旧展品与新展品轮流展示。

### Traditional Chinese

這份收藏不斷新陳代謝，舊展品與新展品輪流展示。

zhè fèn shōu cáng bú duàn xīn chén dài xiè ， jiù zhǎn pǐn yǔ xīn zhǎn pǐn lún liú zhǎn shì 。

The collection is continually renewed as older and newer exhibits rotate.

组织的新陈代谢需要传承经验，也需要新想法。

### Traditional Chinese

組織的新陳代謝需要傳承經驗，也需要新想法。

zǔ zhī de xīn chén dài xiè xū yào chuán chéng jīng yàn ， yě xū yào xīn xiǎng fǎ 。

An organization's renewal needs both inherited experience and new ideas.

这里的新陈代谢是比喻，不是生物学意义。

### Traditional Chinese

這裡的新陳代謝是比喻，不是生物學意義。

zhè lǐ de xīn chén dài xiè shì bǐ yù ， bú shì shēng wù xué yì yì 。

Here the term is a metaphor for renewal rather than its biological meaning.

## Sources & reference checks

Original explanations and examples from Chinese Idioms Almanac. Source-checked October 7, 2026.

- [Ministry of Education · 成語典](https://dict.idioms.moe.edu.tw/idiomView.jsp?ID=1272&webMd=1&la=0)

- [CC-CEDICT · forms & pronunciation](https://www.mdbg.net/chinese/dictionary?page=worddict&wdqb=%E6%96%B0%E9%99%B3%E4%BB%A3%E8%AC%9D)

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