镜子

• Pinyin: jìng zi
• Hanzi breakdown: 镜 = 钅 (metal radical) + 竟 (finish, phonetic) — mirror + 子 = noun suffix

Meaning

Mirror. A reflective surface used for seeing one's own image.

The everyday word for a mirror of any kind — bathroom mirrors, handheld mirrors, full-length mirrors, etc. Also used figuratively to mean something that reflects or reveals truth, as in 以史为镜 (use history as a mirror). The suffix 子 marks it as a common noun.

Examples

1. 她每天出门前都要照一下镜子。 She looks in the mirror every day before going out.
2. 浴室的镜子被热气弄模糊了。 The bathroom mirror was fogged up by the steam.
3. 他在镜子里看到自己变老了很多。 He saw in the mirror that he had aged a lot.

Usage Guide

Context: everyday, home, appearance

Tone: descriptive

Do Say

• 你看看镜子，头发有点乱。(Look in the mirror; your hair is a bit messy.)
• 这面镜子太小了，看不到全身。(This mirror is too small to see your whole body.)

Don't Say

• 我用镜子看远处的东西 (镜子 is for seeing reflections, not for viewing distant objects — use 望远镜 for telescope or 放大镜 for magnifying glass)

Origin & History

From 镜 (mirror, originally a bronze reflective disc, from 钅 metal + 竟 phonetic) plus the noun suffix 子.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal