jìng zi
mirror
我每天早上都会照镜子。
wǒ měitiān zǎoshang dōu huì zhào jìngzi.
I look in the mirror every morning.
镜子里的我是谁？
jìngzi lǐ de wǒ shì shéi?
Who am I in the mirror?
镜子可以反射光线。
jìngzi kěyǐ fǎnshè guāngxiàn.
Mirrors can reflect light.
玻璃 (bō li)
glass
窗户 (chuāng hu)
window
Track your progress, master characters, and achieve your Chinese language goals.
Get Started Free
The Chinese word for mirror, 镜子 (jìngzi), is a compound of two characters: 镜 (jìng) and 子 (zi). The character 镜 originally meant "to look at oneself" or "to reflect". It is composed of two parts: 目 (mù), which means "eye", and 京 (jīng), which means "capital city". The combination of these two characters suggests the idea of looking at oneself in a mirror, as if one were looking at oneself in the capital city. The character 子 (zi) is a suffix that indicates a small or young object. In this case, it is used to indicate that the mirror is a small or handheld object. Thus, the word 镜子 (jìngzi) literally means "small object for looking at oneself" or "handheld mirror".
