镜 jìng — mirror
他每天早上对着镜子刷牙。Tā měi tiān zǎo shang duì zhe jìng zi shuā yá.He brushes his teeth in front of the mirror every morning.
Common words: 眼镜 (yǎn jìng)、镜头 (jìng tóu)、镜子 (jìng zi)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "mirror"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "mirror", including 镜 (jìng), 鉴 (jiàn). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms, common words…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "mirror" covers 2 different Chinese characters — 镜 (jìng), 鉴 (jiàn) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 2 characters do not share a sound — their readings span jìng, jiàn — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 镜 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 镜 jìngmirrorUseful words: 眼镜, 镜头
- 鉴 jiànexample; mirror; to view; reflection; to reflect; to inspectUseful words: 鉴定, 鉴于
Common words for these 2 "mirror" characters
Anchor each of these 2 characters in a word you can picture — start with 镜 (jìng) — so "mirror" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
眼镜yǎn jìngspectacles; eyeglasses镜头jìng tóucamera lens; camera shot (in a movie etc); scene镜子jìng zimirror鉴定jiàn dìngto examine sth to determine its authenticity, quality, value etc; to appraise; to evaluate; to authenticate鉴于jiàn yúin view of; seeing that; considering; whereas鉴别jiàn biéto differentiate; to distinguish
See each character in a sentence
Each character below is shown in a short example sentence with pinyin and an English translation — the quickest way to feel the difference between the 2 ways to say "mirror".
鉴 jiàn — example; mirror; to view; reflection; to reflect; to inspect
专家正在鉴定这件文物的真假。Zhuān jiā zhèng zài jiàn dìng zhè jiàn wén wù de zhēn jiǎ.The expert is appraising whether this relic is genuine.
Common words: 鉴定 (jiàn dìng)、鉴于 (jiàn yú)、鉴别 (jiàn bié)
All 2 characters
Open 镜、鉴 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.