(jiè) - to borrow, to lend in Mandarin

jiè

Traditional: 借

#1205 of 5,000 Core 5000

Translation

to borrow, to lend

Word origin

A phono-semantic compound combining the person radical 亻on the left, which signals human activity, with 昔 (xī) providing the sound. The character covers both borrowing and lending.

Origin: phono-semantic compound
Root: 亻(person) + 昔 (xī, phonetic)

Stroke order

借

Examples

笔bǐ？

May I borrow your pen?

。

He lent me some money.

。

I borrowed this book from the library.

？

Could you lend me your phone for a moment?

。

Remember to return things you borrow.

借 (jiè) means to borrow or to lend. The same character covers both directions of the exchange in Mandarin.

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The 1,000 most common Mandarin words

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Used in

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Mandarin · Free printables

借: worksheet, infographic and listicle

Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "借" (to borrow, to lend): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.

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This word is part of lesson 25.