镜 meaning and stroke order
Mirror, glass; lens, glasses
How to write 镜, stroke by stroke
16 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 镜
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- mirror
- lens
How 镜 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Metal.
钅 gives the meaning and 竟 hints at the sound.
Radical: 钅 (gold), shared by 223 characters on this site.
How to remember 镜
镜 combines the metal radical 钅 with 竟 (jìng), which gives the sound. Picture a polished piece of metal that shows your face, since that is what a mirror is.
镜 rarely stands alone in speech. It appears in words like 镜子 (jìngzi, mirror), 眼镜 (yǎnjìng, glasses) and 镜头 (jìngtóu, camera lens or shot). Example: 她每天早上照镜子。(Tā měitiān zǎoshang zhào jìngzi.) She looks in the mirror every morning.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 镜 with 境 (jìng, border, situation), which has the same sound and phonetic 竟 but uses the earth radical 土. Remember: a mirror or lens takes metal 钅, while 环境 (huánjìng, environment) takes earth.
Common words with 镜
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 镜头 | jìngtóu | camera lens; camera shot (in a movie etc) | HSK 4 |
| 眼镜 | yǎnjìng | spectacles; eyeglasses | HSK 4 |
| 镜子 | jìngzi | mirror | HSK 4 |
| 望远镜 | wàngyuǎnjìng | telescope (CL:部[bu4]); binoculars (CL:副[fu4]) | HSK 7-9 |
| 试镜 | shìjìng | to take a screen test; to audition | |
| 眼镜蛇 | yǎnjìngshé | cobra | |
| 墨镜 | mòjìng | sunglasses | |
| 照镜子 | zhàojìngzi | to look in the mirror | |
| 隐形眼镜 | yǐnxíngyǎnjìng | contact lens | |
| 显微镜 | xiǎnwēijìng | microscope | |
| 潜望镜 | qiánwàngjìng | periscope | |
| 太阳镜 | tàiyángjìng | sunglasses | |
| 镜片 | jìngpiàn | lens | |
| 后视镜 | hòushìjìng | rearview mirror |
镜 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 镜
How many strokes are in 镜?
镜 is written with 16 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 镜 mean?
镜 (jìng) means mirror, glass; lens, glasses. A common word with it is 镜头 (jìngtóu), meaning "camera lens; camera shot (in a movie etc)".
How do you pronounce 镜?
镜 is pronounced jìng, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 镜?
The radical of 镜 is 钅, which carries the idea of "gold". Dictionaries list 镜 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 镜?
The traditional form of 镜 is 鏡. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 镜 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 镜 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 镜 is part of the HSK 4 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 3.
How do you say glasses and sunglasses in Chinese?
Glasses are 眼镜 (yǎnjìng), and sunglasses are 墨镜 (mòjìng). Both use the measure word 副 (fù), as in 一副眼镜 (yí fù yǎnjìng), a pair of glasses.
What does 镜头 mean besides camera lens?
镜头 (jìngtóu) can also mean a shot or scene in a film or video. For example, 这个镜头很美 (zhège jìngtóu hěn měi) means this shot is beautiful.