| 前车之覆，后车之鉴 |
qián chē zhī fù , hòu chē zhī jiàn |
lit. the cart in front overturns, a warning to the following cart (idiom); fig. draw lesson from the failure of one's predecessor / learn from past mistake / once bitten twice shy |
| 前 |
qián |
front / forward / ahead / first / top (followed by a number) / future / ago / before / BC (e.g. 前293年) / former / formerly |
| 车 |
Chē |
surname Che |
| 车 |
chē |
car / vehicle / CL:辆 / machine / to shape with a lathe / Kangxi radical 159 |
| 车 |
jū |
war chariot (archaic) / rook (in Chinese chess) / rook (in chess) |
| 之 |
zhī |
(possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的) / him / her / it |
| 覆 |
fù |
to cover / to overflow / to overturn / to capsize |
| 后 |
Hòu |
surname Hou |
| 后 |
hòu |
empress / queen / (archaic) monarch / ruler |
| 后 |
hòu |
back / behind / rear / afterwards / after / later / post- |
| 后车之鉴 |
hòu chē zhī jiàn |
lit. warning to the following cart (idiom); don't follow the track of an overturned cart / fig. draw lesson from the failure of one's predecessor / learn from past mistake / once bitten twice shy |
| 车 |
Chē |
surname Che |
| 车 |
chē |
car / vehicle / CL:辆 / machine / to shape with a lathe / Kangxi radical 159 |
| 车 |
jū |
war chariot (archaic) / rook (in Chinese chess) / rook (in chess) |
| 之 |
zhī |
(possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的) / him / her / it |
| 鉴 |
jiàn |
variant of 鉴 |
| 鉴 |
jiàn |
old variant of 鉴 |
| 鉴 |
jiàn |
bronze mirror (used in ancient times) / to reflect / to mirror / sth that serves as a warning or a lesson / to examine / to scrutinize |
| 鉴 |
jiàn |
variant of 鉴 |