How to Write 借 (jiè) — Meaning “borrow / lend”

Imagine a person (亻) asking to borrow an old book from the past (昔). The left side is the person, the right side is the old item — together they show the act of borrowing something that belongs to someone else.

The left radical 亻 is narrow, and the right part 昔 must be noticeably wider. A common mistake is making the top of 昔 too big — keep the grass crown (艹) compact, and write the bottom 日 slightly narrower than the top. Also, remember 借 has 10 strokes total.

借 (jiè) means borrow/lend and has the right component 昔. 佩 (pèi) means 'to wear' or 'admire' and has the right side 凡 with a vertical stroke. 佬 (lǎo) means 'guy' or 'fellow' and has 老 on the right. Pay attention to the different right-side parts: 昔 vs 凡 vs 老.

借 is used for borrowing and lending objects or money, like 借书 (borrow books) at a library or 借钱 (lend/borrow money) between friends. A cultural note: in China, borrowing is common but people often politely ask using 请问 (excuse me) before saying 借, like 请问可以借一下吗？

Common words containing 借 include: 借书 (jiè shū) — borrow books; 借钱 (jiè qián) — borrow money / lend money; 借用 (jiè yòng) — borrow and use / use something as a substitute.