借鉴
jiè jiàn · HSK 6
to use other people's experience
📚🪞 borrow + mirror = borrow a mirror to reflect on others experience
借 means borrow, 鉴 means mirror or to examine. Together: borrowing someone elses mirror — using their experience as a reference to guide your own decisions. Sounds like jeh jyen.
借 — person radical 亻 + 昔 (formerly)
借 combines the person radical 亻 with 昔, which provides the sound and originally meant 'former times.' The character depicts a person engaging in an act tied to time — borrowing or lending something with the expectation of return. Today it means 'to borrow' or 'to lend.'