there is nothing new under the sun

proverb

There is nothing truly novel in existence; every new idea has some sort of precedent or echo from the past.

OriginLatin nihil sub sōle novum ← Hebrew אֵין כָּל חָדָשׁ תַּחַת הַשָּׁמֶשׁ →
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

proverb

alternative nothing new under the sun

  1. There is nothing truly novel in existence; every new idea has some sort of precedent or echo from the past.

Origin

  1. Hebrewאֵין כָּל חָדָשׁ תַּחַת הַשָּׁמֶשׁ“there is nothing new under the sun”
  2. Latinnihil sub sōle novum
  3. Englishthere is nothing new under the sun

Calque of Latin nihil sub sōle novum, itself a calque from the Hebrew אֵין כָּל חָדָשׁ תַּחַת הַשָּׁמֶשׁ (en kol chadásh táchat hashámesh, “there is nothing new under the sun”) found in Ecclesiastes 1:9.

More words from Latin, Hebrew

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Ancient Greek οὐκ ἔστι πᾶν πρόσφατον ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον
  • οὐκ ἔστι πᾶν πρόσφατον ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον (ouk ésti pân prósphaton hupò tòn hḗlion)there is nothing new
Arabic فليس تحت الشمس جديد
  • فليس تحت الشمس جديدthere is nothing new
Basque ezer berririk eguzkiaren azpian
  • ezer berririk eguzkiaren azpianthere is nothing new
Bulgarian нищо ново под слънцето
  • нищо ново под слънцето (ništo novo pod slănceto)there is nothing new
Catalan no hi ha res de nou sota el sol
  • no hi ha res de nou sota el solthere is nothing new
Chinese Cantonese 日光之下並無新事 /日光之下并无新事
  • 日光之下並無新事 /日光之下并无新事 (jat⁶ gwong¹ zi¹ haa⁶ bing⁶ mou⁴ san¹ si⁶)there is nothing new
Chinese Mandarin 日光之下並無新事 /日光之下并无新事
  • 日光之下並無新事 /日光之下并无新事 (rìguāng zhī xià bìng wú xīn shì)there is nothing new
Czech nic nového pod sluncem
  • nic nového pod sluncemthere is nothing new
Danish intet nyt under solen
  • intet nyt under solenthere is nothing new
Dutch niets nieuws onder de zon
  • niets nieuws onder de zonthere is nothing new
Esperanto nenio nova sub la suno
  • nenio nova sub la sunothere is nothing new
Finnish ei mitään uutta auringon alla, ei uutta auringon alla
  • ei mitään uutta auringon allathere is nothing new
  • ei uutta auringon allathere is nothing new
French rien de nouveau sous le soleil
  • rien de nouveau sous le soleilthere is nothing new
German nichts Neues unter der Sonne
  • nichts Neues unter der Sonnethere is nothing new
Greek ουδέν καινόν υπό τον ήλιον
  • ουδέν καινόν υπό τον ήλιον (oudén kainón ypó ton ílion)there is nothing new
Hebrew אין כל חדש תחת השמש, אין חדש תחת השמש
  • אין כל חדש תחת השמשthere is nothing new
  • אין חדש תחת השמשthere is nothing new
Hungarian nincs új a nap alatt
  • nincs új a nap alattthere is nothing new
Italian niente di nuovo sotto il sole
  • niente di nuovo sotto il solethere is nothing new
Japanese 日の下に新しきものなし
  • 日の下に新しきものなし (hi no shita ni atarashiki mono nashi)there is nothing new
Korean 하늘 아래 새로운 것은 없다, 세상에 새로운 것이라고는 없다
  • 하늘 아래 새로운 것은 없다 (haneul arae saeroun geoseun eopda)there is nothing new
  • 세상에 새로운 것이라고는 없다 (sesang'e saeroun geosiragoneun eopda)there is nothing new
Latin nihil sub sole novum, nihil sub sole novi
  • nihil sub sole novumthere is nothing new
  • nihil sub sole novithere is nothing new
Latvian tas nav nekas jauns
  • tas nav nekas jaunsthere is nothing new
Lithuanian nieko naujo po saule
  • nieko naujo po saulethere is nothing new
Norwegian Bokmål intet nytt under solen
  • intet nytt under solenthere is nothing new
Persian هیچ چیز جدیدی در زیر خورشید نیست
  • هیچ چیز جدیدی در زیر خورشید نیستthere is nothing new
Polish nic nowego pod słońcem
  • nic nowego pod słońcemthere is nothing new
Portuguese nada de novo sob o sol, nada de novo debaixo do sol
  • nada de novo sob o solthere is nothing new
  • nada de novo debaixo do solthere is nothing new
Romanian nimic nou sub soare
  • nimic nou sub soarethere is nothing new
Russian ничто не ново под луной
  • ничто не ново под луной (ništo ne novo pod lunoj)there is nothing new
Slovak nič nové pod slnkom
  • nič nové pod slnkomthere is nothing new
Spanish nada nuevo bajo el sol
  • nada nuevo bajo el solthere is nothing new
Swedish inget nytt under solen
  • inget nytt under solenthere is nothing new
Turkish güneşin altında yeni bir şey yok
  • güneşin altında yeni bir şey yokthere is nothing new
Ukrainian нічого нового під сонцем
  • нічого нового під сонцем (ničoho novoho pid soncem)there is nothing new
Welsh dim byd newydd dan yr haul
  • dim byd newydd dan yr haulthere is nothing new
Cite this entry
APA

there is nothing new under the sun. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/there%20is%20nothing%20new%20under%20the%20sun

MLA

“there is nothing new under the sun.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/there%20is%20nothing%20new%20under%20the%20sun. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “there is nothing new under the sun,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/there%20is%20nothing%20new%20under%20the%20sun.

Source: there is nothing new under the sun on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.