藉 (jiè) · to rely on; to make use of; by means of

Meanings

1 to rely on; to make use of; by means of
2 variant of 借 (to borrow; to lend)

Characters

藉

jiè

to rely on; to make use of

Examples

HSK 5

他藉此机会表达了感谢。

Tā jiè cǐ jīhuì biǎodá le gǎnxiè.

He took this opportunity to express his gratitude.

HSK 6

藉着月光，他看清了前方的路。

Jiè zhe yuèguāng, tā kàn qīng le qiánfāng de lù.

By the moonlight, he could see the road ahead clearly.

Tips

usage

藉 is largely interchangeable with 借 in the meaning of 'by means of' (藉此 = 借此). In modern simplified Chinese, 借 is preferred. 藉 also appears in 慰藉 ('consolation') and 狼藉 ('in a mess').

mistakes

藉 has two readings: jiè (to rely on, variant of 借) and jí (as in 狼藉, 'in a mess'). Don't mix them up.

Components

radical

艹 cǎo

grass; plant (top radical)

Top three-stroke grass radical - the indexing radical. Original meaning of 藉 was 'a mat of straw spread on the ground to sit or kneel on for a ceremony,' which is how the grass shows up. From 'mat to lean on' came 'to rely on, to use as support,' the modern senses.

phonetic

耤 jí

to plough; borrow

Bottom 14 strokes form 耤 - itself 耒 (plough) + 昔 (ancient). Supplies the sound jí, which drifted to jiè. Same phonetic core appears in the simpler twin 借 (to borrow) and in 籍 (register, records) - all variations on the idea of leaning on something already laid down.