Usage note
借用来表示借用或借入某物。
jiè lái yòng de bǎo shí yǐ jùn yǔ jiè rù mǒu wù.
Use 借 to mean borrowing or lending something.
Context note
当你暂时需要别人的东西，并打算用完归还时，就可以用“借”这个字。它常用于学校和家庭等日常场合。
dāng nǐ zàn shí xū yào bié rén de dōng xi, bìng dǎ suàn yòng wán guī huán shí, jiù kě yǐ yòng “jiè” zhè ge zì. tā cháng yòng yú xué xiào hé jiā tíng děng rì cháng chǎng hé.
This word is used when you temporarily take something from someone with the intention of returning it later, such as borrowing a pencil at school or a book from a friend. It is common in everyday situations like home and school.
5 examples
我可以借你的铅笔吗？
wǒ kě yǐ jiè nǐ de qiān bǐ ma？
Can I borrow your pencil?
妈妈让我把钱借给弟弟。
mā ma ràng wǒ bǎ qián jiè gěi dì di。
Mom asked me to lend money to my brother.
我向图书馆借了一本书。
wǒ xiàng tú shū guǎn jiè le yì běn shū。
I borrowed a book from the library.
请帮我借一下这个东西。
qǐng bāng wǒ jiè yí xià zhè ge dōng xī。
Please help me borrow this thing.
他把伞借给了我。
tā bǎ sǎn jiè gěi le wǒ。
He lent his umbrella to me.
5 mini stories
小明向妈妈借了钱买玩具。妈妈同意了。
xiǎo míng xiàng mā ma jiè le qián mǎi wán jù。 mā ma tóng yì le。
Xiao Ming borrowed money from his mom to buy a toy. Mom agreed.
我和朋友一起去图书馆借书。我们找到了很多好书。
wǒ hé péng yǒu yì qǐ qù tú shū guǎn jiè shū。 wǒ men zhǎo dào le hěn duō hǎo shū。
My friend and I went to the library to borrow books. We found many good ones.
妈妈让我把钱借给弟弟买文具。弟弟很开心。
mā ma ràng wǒ bǎ qián jiè gěi dì di mǎi wén jù。 dì di hěn kāi xīn。
Mom asked me to lend money to my brother to buy stationery. Brother was very happy.
我向同学借了一本书复习功课。书很有帮助。
wǒ xiàng tóng xué jiè le yì běn shū fù xí gōng kè。 shū hěn yǒu bāng zhù。
I borrowed a book from a classmate to review my lessons. The book was very helpful.
爸爸把车借给邻居搬家用。邻居很感激。
bà ba bǎ chē jiè gěi lín jū bān jiā yòng。 lín jū hěn gǎn jī。
Dad lent his car to the neighbor for moving. Neighbor was very grateful.
Mini dialogue
借铅笔
A
我可以借你的铅笔吗？
Wǒ kěyǐ jiè nǐ de qiānbǐ ma?
Can I borrow your pencil?
B
可以，给你。记得还我。
Kěyǐ, gěi nǐ. Jìde huán wǒ.
Sure, here you go. Remember to return it.
借书
A
这本书很好看，你想借吗？
Zhè běn shū hěn hǎokàn, nǐ xiǎng jiè ma?
This book is very interesting. Do you want to borrow it?
B
好，谢谢你借给我。
Hǎo, xièxie nǐ jiè gěi wǒ.
Okay, thank you for lending it to me.
Related words and contrasts
opposite
还
huán
return
借 means to borrow; 还 means to give back.
contrast
借给
jiè gěi
lend to
借 can mean borrow or lend. 借给 makes it clear you are lending to someone.