鉴往知来
jiàn wǎng zhī lái
Pinyin

Definition

鉴往知来
 - 
jiàn wǎng zhī lái
  1. to observe the past to foresee the future (idiom, taken loosely from Book of Songs); studying ancient wisdom gives insight into what is to come

Character Decomposition

Related Words (20)

知
zhī
  1. 1 to know
  2. 2 to be aware
知道
zhī dào
  1. 1 to know
  2. 2 to become aware of
  3. 3 also pr. [zhī dao]
一如既往
yī rú jì wǎng
  1. 1 just as in the past (idiom); as before
  2. 2 continuing as always
不为人知
bù wéi rén zhī
  1. 1 not known to anyone
  2. 2 secret
  3. 3 unknown
不知不觉
bù zhī bù jué
  1. 1 unconsciously
  2. 2 unwittingly
不知所措
bù zhī suǒ cuò
  1. 1 not knowing what to do (idiom); at one's wits' end
  2. 2 embarrassed and at a complete loss
交往
jiāo wǎng
  1. 1 to associate (with)
  2. 2 to have contact (with)
  3. 3 to hang out (with)
  4. 4 to date
  5. 5 (interpersonal) relationship
  6. 6 association
  7. 7 contact
以往
yǐ wǎng
  1. 1 in the past
  2. 2 formerly
前往
qián wǎng
  1. 1 to leave for
  2. 2 to proceed towards
  3. 3 to go
告知
gào zhī
  1. 1 to inform
向往
xiàng wǎng
  1. 1 to yearn for
  2. 2 to look forward to
往
wǎng
  1. 1 to go (in a direction)
  2. 2 to
  3. 3 towards
  4. 4 (of a train) bound for
  5. 5 past
  6. 6 previous
往事
wǎng shì
  1. 1 past events
  2. 2 former happenings
往前
wǎng qián
  1. 1 to move forwards
往外
wǎng wài
  1. 1 out
  2. 2 outbound
  3. 3 departing
往年
wǎng nián
  1. 1 in former years
  2. 2 in previous years
往往
wǎng wǎng
  1. 1 usually
  2. 2 in many cases
  3. 3 more often than not
往后
wǎng hòu
  1. 1 from now on
  2. 2 in the future
  3. 3 time to come
往日
wǎng rì
  1. 1 former days
  2. 2 the past
往返
wǎng fǎn
  1. 1 to go back and forth
  2. 2 to go to and fro
  3. 3 round trip

Idioms (20)

一问三不知
yī wèn sān bù zhī
  1. 1 lit. to reply "don't know" whatever the question (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. absolutely no idea of what's going on
  3. 3 complete ignorance
一如既往
yī rú jì wǎng
  1. 1 just as in the past (idiom); as before
  2. 2 continuing as always
一往无前
yī wǎng wú qián
  1. 1 to advance courageously (idiom)
  2. 2 to press forward
一望而知
yī wàng ér zhī
  1. 1 to be evident at a glance (idiom)
一无所知
yī wú suǒ zhī
  1. 1 not knowing anything at all (idiom); completely ignorant
  2. 2 without an inkling
一知半解
yī zhī bàn jiě
  1. 1 lit. to know one and understand half (idiom); a smattering of knowledge
  2. 2 dilettante
  3. 3 amateur
一叶知秋
yī yè zhī qiū
  1. 1 lit. the falling of one leaf heralds the coming of autumn (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. a small sign can indicate a great trend
  3. 3 a straw in the wind
不当家不知柴米贵
bù dāng jiā bù zhī chái mǐ guì
  1. 1 a person who doesn't manage a household would not be aware how expensive it is (idiom)
不知丁董
bù zhī Dīng Dǒng
  1. 1 forgetting the fate of Ding and Dong (idiom)
  2. 2 unheeding the lessons of the past
不知好歹
bù zhī hǎo dǎi
  1. 1 unable to differentiate good from bad (idiom)
  2. 2 not to know what's good for one
  3. 3 unable to recognize others' good intentions
不知所措
bù zhī suǒ cuò
  1. 1 not knowing what to do (idiom); at one's wits' end
  2. 2 embarrassed and at a complete loss
不知死活
bù zhī sǐ huó
  1. 1 to act recklessly (idiom)
不知轻重
bù zhī qīng zhòng
  1. 1 lit. not knowing what's important (idiom); no appreciation of the gravity of things
  2. 2 naive
  3. 3 doesn't know who's who
  4. 4 no sense of priorities
不知进退
bù zhī jìn tuì
  1. 1 not knowing when to come or leave (idiom); with no sense of propriety
人往高处走，水往低处流
rén wǎng gāo chù zǒu , shuǐ wǎng dī chù liú
  1. 1 man seeks his way up just as water seeks its way down (idiom)
  2. 2 one should constantly strive to make progress
他乡遇故知
tā xiāng yù gù zhī
  1. 1 meeting an old friend in a foreign place (idiom)
只知其一，不知其二
zhǐ zhī qí yī , bù zhī qí èr
  1. 1 to know the first, but not know the second (idiom); only partial information
司马昭之心路人皆知
Sī mǎ Zhāo zhī xīn lù rén jiē zhī
  1. 1 lit. Sima Zhao's intentions are obvious to everyone (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. an open secret
塞翁失马安知非福
sài wēng shī mǎ ān zhī fēi fú
  1. 1 the old man lost his mare, but it all turned out for the best (idiom); fig. a blessing in disguise
  2. 2 it's an ill wind that blows nobody any good
  3. 3 also written 塞翁失馬焉知非福|塞翁失马焉知非福
塞翁失马焉知非福
sài wēng shī mǎ yān zhī fēi fú
  1. 1 the old man lost his mare, but it all turned out for the best (idiom); fig. a blessing in disguise
  2. 2 it's an ill wind that blows nobody any good

Sample Sentences