借 (jiè) is a Chinese character meaning “to borrow”. It is written from 亻 (person (the form 人 takes on the left)) and 昔 (former times; the past (in 借 it is the sound part)), side by side, and takes 10 strokes.
Build the character for “to borrow; to lend”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
亻 + 昔
Left–right structure
- 亻 person (the form 人 takes on the left) · rén meaning
- 昔 former times; the past (in 借 it is the sound part) · xī sound
Structure from: 说文解字：借，假也。从人，昔声。现代字形核验：⿰亻昔，2+8=10 画（hanzi-writer-data）
Memory aid
A person 亻 comes to you about something from the past 昔 ("former times") — the thing they borrowed long ago, or want to borrow now. 昔 is xī and 借 is jiè: the sound has drifted a long way, so treat 昔 as a shape to remember here, not a pronunciation hint.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
10 strokes
In real words
- 借口jiè kǒuexcuse; pretext借 = jiè
- 凭借píng jièto rely on; by means of借 = jiè
Go deeper
All readings
to borrow; to lend
to borrow; to lend; to make use of; to use as a pretext
暂时使用别人的财物或把财物暂时给别人使用；也指利用、假托。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 借口jiè kǒuexcuse; pretext借 = jiè
- 凭借píng jièto rely on; by means of借 = jiè
Sound component
昔 family diverged
Easy to confuse with
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 借 mean?
借 (jiè) means to borrow; to lend; to make use of; to use as a pretext.
How do you pronounce 借?
It is pronounced jiè.
What parts is 借 made of?
亻 (person (the form 人 takes on the left)) and 昔 (former times; the past (in 借 it is the sound part)), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字：借，假也。从人，昔声。现代字形核验：⿰亻昔，2+8=10 画（hanzi-writer-data）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 借 have?
10. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 借?
亻. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 借?
Common ones are 借口 and 凭借. The reading of 借 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.