Difference between 新 and 生? Until now, I thought 新 meant 'new' in all contexts. In class recently, our tutor showed a slide in which he used 生词 for 'new words'. My dictionary gives the meaning of 生 when used as an adjective as 'raw, uncooked, unripe'. Is there some other subtle meaning of 生 when used in this context to distinguish it from 新 - when would I choose one over the over?
I am a Chinese.

新 means new and 生 means unfamiliar.

In your daily study, a word you first see could be either 新词 (new word) or 生词 (unfamiliar word) to you.

However, in public articles, 新词 usually stand for newly made word (ABSOLUTELY NEW TO EVERYONE), and 生词 stand for unfamiliar word (RELATIVELY NEW TO SOMEONE).

Hope this helps.