lend/borrow 借 the same Chinese word

Dear friends,

Let's talk about the Chinese word 借(lend, borrow) in this lesson. It's the same character in Chinese yet with different meanings in English. In a Chinese sentence, whether it means "lend" or "borrow" depending on the related adverbs, subjects, and objects around this Chinese verb 借(lend, borrow), please watch the following video lesson for some examples.

The 1st phrase: (the red bottom note is Chinese pinyin)

lend money

借錢

jiè qián

借(lend) + 錢(money)

Let's extend the 1st phrase to a sentence:

I lent money to him.

我借錢給他

Wǒ jiè qián gěi tā

我(I) + 借錢(lend money) + 給(give) + 他(him)

note: the past tense and present tense is the same in Chinese grammar, so you don't need to worry about the change of Chinese verbs. That's pretty good for learning Mandarin for this part, isn't it?

the phrase in the sentence:

lend money to...

借錢給

jiè qián gěi

借(lend) + 錢(money) + 給(give)

in this example, we know this 借(lend, borrow) character is "lend...to..." by the character of 給(give).

Let's check the 2nd phrase, though it contains the same 2 Chinese characters:

the 2nd phrase: (the red bottom note is Chinese pinyin)

borrow money

借錢

jiè qián

借(borrow) + 錢(money)

Let's extend the 2nd phrase to a sentence:

He borrowed money from me.

他向我借錢

Tā xiàng wǒ jiè qián

他(he) + 向(towards) + 我(me) + 借錢(borrow money)

check this part from the sentence:

borrow money from me

向我借錢

xiàng wǒ jiè qián

向(towards) + 我(me) + 借(borrow) + 錢(money)

we know this 借(lend, borrow) character is "borrow...from..." by the adverb 向(towards).

Please check the analysis of phrases and vocabulary of this lesson via my database site, you will understand the meaning of each character which contained in the examples:

http://www.chinese-word.com/lessons/lesson-63.html

Here are more extra examples related with the previous sentences, which will be updated onto my mp3 library after I finishing this blog article.

My mp3 library for Chinese words, phrases, and sentences:

http://www.chinese-word.com/phrase/index.html

the extra(opposite) examples:

He lent money to me.

他借錢給我

Tā jiè qián gěi wǒ

他(he) + 借錢(lend money) + 給(give) + 我(me)

and 

I borrowed money from him.

我向他借錢

Wǒ xiàng tā jiè qián

我(I) + 向(towards) + 他(him) + 借錢(borrow money)

note: the Chinese character 我(I, me), and 他(he, him), either subject or object are the same Chinese character and pronunciation.

I, me

我

wǒ

he, him

他

tā

Please check the analysis of phrases and vocabulary of this lesson via my database site, you will understand the meaning of each character which is contained in the examples:

http://www.chinese-word.com/lessons/lesson-63.html

The 3rd phrase: (the red bottom note is Chinese pinyin)

return borrowed money

還錢

huán qián

還(return) + 錢(money)

return, give back

還

huán

Let's check the following sentence:

He returned the money to me.

他還錢給我

Tā huán qián gěi wǒ

他(he) + 還(return) + 錢(money) + 給(give) + 我(me)

Again, the past tense and present tense is the same in Chinese grammar, so you don't need to worry about the change of Chinese verbs.

Here are two opposite words in Chinese:

borrow

借

jiè

and

return, give back

還

huán

Let's check the 4th phrase for practicing this 借(lend, borrow) verb:

lend him

借給他

jiè gěi tā

借(lend) + 給(give, to) + 他(him)

and the sentence:

I lent him a book.

我借給他一本書

Wǒ jiè gěi tā yì běn shū

我(I) + 借(lend) + 給(give, to) + 他(him) + 一本書(a book)

the word:

a book

一本書

yì běn shū

一本(a copy, a volume) + 書(book)

the extra (opposite) phrase and sentence:

lend me

借給我

jiè gěi wǒ

借(lend) + 給(give, to) + 我(me)

and

He lent me a book.

他借給我一本書

Tā jiè gěi wǒ yì běn shū

他(he) + 借(lend) + 給(give, to) + 我(me) + 一本書(a book)

The 5th phrase and sentence for more examples:

borrow from me

向我借

xiàng wǒ jiè

向(towards) + 我(me) + 借(borrow)

and

He borrowed a book from me.

他向我借一本書

Tā xiàng wǒ jiè yì běn shū

他(he) + 向(towards) + 我(me) + 借(borrow) + 一本書(a book)

Here are more extra(opposite) phrase and sentence:

borrow from him

向他借

xiàng tā jiè

向(towards) + 他(him) + 借(borrow)

and

I borrowed a book from him.

我向他借一本書

Wǒ xiàng tā jiè yì běn shū

我(I) + 向(towards) + 他(him) + 借(borrow) + 一本書(a book)

Please check the analysis of the phrases and vocabulary of this video lesson via my database site:

http://www.chinese-word.com/lessons/lesson-63.html

For more extra examples, please check my mp3 library:

http://www.chinese-word.com/phrase/index.html

Thanks for reading my blog, please remember to subscribe my YouTube channel for encouragement. Thank you very much!

祝 佳節愉快

Wish you have a joyous Holiday Season!

Regards,

Andres Leo

www.chinese-word.com

Chinese Words Database