Dictionary › 前车之鉴

前车之鉴

qián chē zhī jiàn

4-character word Traditional 前車之鑑

What 前车之鉴 means

1. (lit.) a warning taken from the overturned cart ahead (idiom)
2. (fig.) lesson learned from past mistakes or failures

Other readings

前车之鉴 is 多音字 — it is read more than one way, and the reading changes the meaning.

• qián chē zhī jiànvariant of {前车之鉴|qián chē zhī jiàn}

The characters in 前车之鉴

• 前qiánfront; forward; ahead
• 车chēcar; vehicle; machine
• 之zhī(possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的; him; her
• 鉴jiànbronze mirror (used in ancient times); to reflect; to mirror