生疏
shēngshū
unfamiliar, rusty
Part of speech · adjective
Pattern visualization
Examples
- 多年没说,我的法语生疏了。After years without speaking it, my French has gotten rusty.
- 他对这里的环境还很生疏。He is still unfamiliar with this place.
Collocations
手艺生疏人地生疏业务生疏关系生疏
Mnemonic
生 shēng "raw, unripe" + 疏 shū "sparse, distant": raw and distant, i.e. unfamiliar, rusty. Same as the Korean word saeng-so (生疏). Two shades: a person or place being unfamiliar (人地生疏 a strange land) and a once-practiced skill going rusty (手艺生疏). It is the opposite of 熟悉 and 熟练, the pair 生 "raw" against 熟 "ripe" reversed. 疏 means "sparse, to neglect".
Related
陌生生分熟悉熟练
Quick check
Which character pair forms the contrast behind 生疏?