Headword
Language Mandarin · temporary transfer of a returnable theme · one root 借 jiè · sense 1 借进 with 向 or 跟 · sense 2 借出 with 给 · 从 unprinted on this article · rent stays on 出租
One root 借 · the other party’s marker selects the direction in the seventh-edition examples · working claim, revisable
Lend · Voice[Lender] + ApplHAVE(Recipient给+NP, Theme) · seventh edition sense 2, glossed 借出 · 借书给他 · 借钱给人
Borrow · the same 借 · Voice[Borrower] + Source向/跟+NP + Theme · sense 1, glossed 借进 · 向他借书 · 跟人借钱 · 从 is unprinted on this article
Separate article · 出借 · 借出去（多指物品） · 新到的期刊暂不～ · no person in that example · no register label is printed
A lending, on this reading, has a Lender, a Recipient, and a Theme. The seventh edition of 现代汉语词典 files both directions on one root, 借 jiè. Sense 1 is 暂时使用别人的物品或金钱；借进, examples 向他借书, 跟人借钱, and 把笔借给我用一下. Sense 2 is 把物品或金钱暂时供别人使用；借出, examples 借书给他 and 借钱给人. The wording 暂时 is the definition’s. This page quotes it and does not give it a further label. Voice adds the lender, or the borrower, as the subject. Low ApplHAVE introduces the Recipient inside the lend sense and relates the Recipient to the Theme. The drawing is the same working claim as the Recipient of 卖 and of English give-geometry pay, and it is revisable. Which theta role is the object in this low ApplHAVE domain is the note Causative templates and argument selection. This page does not edit that note.
Where the frame sits against the English gloss. English lend does not mean borrow. The lender is the subject of lend. The recipient is a bare object (lend me a book) or a to-phrase (lend the book to him). The borrower is the subject of another verb, and the source is from. 借 keeps both directions on one root. The seventh edition numbers the get reading as sense 1, 借进, and the give reading as sense 2, 借出. In those examples the source is 向 or 跟, and the recipient of sense 2 is 给. English uses two lemmas. The Mandarin examples use one root, and the marker is what separates the two numbered senses. 从 is not in the 借 article. Polish pożyczyć makes a one-lemma cut with a bare dative against od. German leihen keeps both directions and adds a reflexive dative on the borrow frame. Bulgarian заемам uses a dative clitic or на against от.
Sense 2 prints 给 after the theme. A bare recipient is printed in other dictionaries, not in that sense’s examples. 借书给他 and 借钱给人 are 借 plus the theme plus 给 plus the person. CC-CEDICT’s line for 借 glosses the character “to borrow”, and glosses “to lend” as the combination with 给 or 出. The same file has a headword 借给, “to lend to sb”, and a headword 借出, “to lend”. The seventh edition does not give 借给 or 借出 a separate article in the pages read. It uses 借出 as the gloss inside sense 2. Wiktionary’s lend example has no 给: 你能借我一本吗. 國語辭典, as the character page prints it, files 这支笔借你用一下 under the give sense. The cross-strait dictionary’s give examples are 这把伞借你 and 车借你用. Those bare persons are the recipient. They are not the seventh edition’s 给他.
把笔借给我用一下 is filed under sense 1. The line has 把 of the pen and 给我. The seventh edition numbers it with 向他借书 and 跟人借钱, under 借进. It is not an example of sense 2. This page does not move it.
借 ² is a different homonym. The seventh edition’s second article is pretext, reliance, and a coverb: 借故, 借端, 借助, 借着灯光看书, 借出差的机会调查方言. CC-CEDICT’s “to make use of” and “by; with” sit with that article. Those lines are not the returnable theme.
The seventh edition does not put a lender, a recipient, a thing, and a source in one clause. Sense 1 is the get frame. Sense 2 is the give frame. 帕特 and 克里斯 continue the named-participant series on 卖. A name does not spell a case ending. There is no case ending on the noun. 给克里斯 and 向克里斯 are the markers. A duration such as 三天 is not in the entries read. It is not given a seat.
借 · give · sense 2 · 给 of the person · the thing is the object
✓ 把物品或金钱暂时供别人使用；借出：借书给他｜借钱给人。 现代汉语词典第7版 · 借 ¹ · sense 2 · 给 follows the theme
✓ 你能借我一本吗？ English Wiktionary · 借 · “to lend” · 我 is bare · no 给 · the book is 一本
✓ 这支笔借你用一下。 國語辭典 · sense 2 · 你 is bare · the pen precedes the verb
✓ 这把伞借你｜车借你用。 两岸通用词典 · mainland give sense · bare 你 · Taiwan volume 車借你用 · 這把傘借你
to let someone else use a thing or money for a time. Lend him a book. Lend someone money. Can you lend me one?
The same 借 · get · sense 1 · 向 or 跟 of the person
✓ 暂时使用别人的物品或金钱；借进：向他借书｜跟人借钱｜把笔借给我用一下。 第7版 · sense 1 · 向他 · 跟人 · the 把 line is numbered here
✓ 我可以借你的书吗？ English Wiktionary · “to borrow” · 你的书 · no 向 · no 跟 · no 从
✓ 借书｜借钱｜有借有还，再借不难。 两岸 · get sense · theme only in 借书 and 借钱 · the saying names return · no duration numeral
✓ 向人借钱或借钱给人。 第7版 · 借款 · both markers in one gloss · not the article 借
to use someone else’s thing or money for a time. Borrow a book from him. Borrow money from someone. Can I borrow your book?
出借 · a separate article · the thing · no person in the example
✓ 借出去（多指物品）：新到的期刊暂不～。 第7版 · 出借 · the periodical is the theme · no 给 · no 向
✓ 把借来的东西再借给别人。 · 请求别人借给（钱或物）。 第7版 · 转借 · 求借 · 借给 is inside the definitions · not separate pages
to lend a thing out. Newly arrived periodicals are not being lent out for the moment.
| Place | Introduced by (working) | Mandarin marking | Case status | English and sibling marking |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lender | Spec,Voice of sense 2 | subject of the give sense · no case ending | sense 2 is glossed 借出 · 出借 is another article · a theme-only 借书 is the get sense in the cross-strait dictionary · CC-CEDICT glosses bare 借 as borrow | subject of lend · subject of the lend frame of leihen · subject of заемам when the other human is a dative clitic or на |
| Recipient | low ApplHAVE inside the give sense | 给 + NP in sense 2 · a bare NP in Wiktionary, 國語辭典, and the cross-strait give examples | 给他 · 给人 · 借我一本 · 借你 · 给我 is inside the sense-1 line 把笔借给我用一下 · no dative ending | bare object of lend me a book, or to · Bulgarian dative clitic or на · German dative · the Mandarin noun has no case ending |
| Theme | complement of 借 | the thing or the sum · no case ending · 把 can front it | 书 · 钱 · 笔 · 一本 · 伞 · 车 · 期刊 on 出借 · a sum in that slot is the thing named 钱 | direct object of lend and of borrow · the one object of заемам |
| Borrower | Spec,Voice of sense 1 | subject of that sense · the same root | glossed 借进 · Wiktionary’s borrow subject is the speaker of 我可以借你的书吗 · English puts this subject on borrow | subject of borrow · subject of заемам beside от · subject of the borrow frame of leihen |
| Source | 向 or 跟 on sense 1 | 向 + NP · 跟 + NP | 向他 · 跟人 · 向人借钱 is the 借款 gloss · 从 is unprinted on 借, on 出借, and on 借款 · Wiktionary’s 你的书 is a possessive theme, not 向你 | from of borrow · Bulgarian от · Polish od · German von or bei |
| 出借 | another article · not a person-marker | 出借 · the example names the thing | 新到的期刊暂不～ · definition 多指物品 · no 给 · CC-CEDICT glosses the word “to lend; to put out a loan” · no register label is printed on the seventh-edition line | no second English lemma inside lend · not the rent lemma |
Marking map. Read the sense, then the marker. On the seventh-edition article, 给 in sense 2 is the recipient, and 向 or 跟 in sense 1 is the source. 从 is not printed. A bare person after 借 is the recipient in the dictionaries that print it. 你的书 is the theme.
Each row lines up one English slot with its Mandarin slot. The alignment type says what happens to the slot: = (same status), shift (a bare English object or to ↔ 给, or a bare person in the dictionaries that print one; from a person ↔ 向 or 跟), or one root where English uses two. Dictionary lines come first. The constructed Mandarin sentences are modelled on a printed line. They show the working alignment, not frequency, and not a bilingual corpus.
| Slot | EN form | ZH form | Align | EN example | ZH example |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lender as subject | SUBJ of lend | subject of sense 2 | = for this direction · the root also has the borrower’s subject | Lend him the book. constructed gloss | 借书给他 第7版 · sense 2 |
| Theme | OBJ | the thing · no case ending | = | the book · the money glosses | 书 · 钱 第7版 · 一本 Wiktionary |
| Recipient | bare object, or to | 给 + NP, or a bare NP where that shape is printed | shift · sense 2 prints 给 · Wiktionary, 國語辭典, and the cross-strait give lines print a bare person · no dative ending | lend me one · lend the book to him the two English clothes | 借我一本 Wiktionary · 给他 第7版 · 给克里斯 constructed |
| Borrower as subject | SUBJ of borrow · a different English lemma | subject of the same 借 | one Mandarin root for a direction English keeps on borrow | Can I borrow your book? Wiktionary’s translation | 我可以借你的书吗？ Wiktionary |
| Source, person | from | 向 or 跟 + NP | shift · the root does not change · 从 is unprinted · a possessive theme is not this marker | borrow a book from him gloss | 向他借书 第7版 · 跟人借钱 第7版 · 向克里斯 constructed |
| 出借 | no separate piece of lend | another article · theme, no person in the example | the article is printed · the recipient is unfilled · no register label is printed | not being lent out gloss | 新到的期刊暂不出借 第7版 · 出借 · no person |
| Rent | rent · a different English lemma | 出租 / 租 | Mandarin splits the lemmas · Japanese 貸す does not | rent the house not this page | 出租房屋 the rent page · no 给 on that example |
The strip below is a set of small multiples. Each card holds one frame, with English on top and Mandarin under it. The subject chip is the lender when the other human is 给 or a bare recipient, and the borrower when the other phrase is 向 or 跟.
EN · ZH · 给 of the recipient
Lend him a book.
借书给他
ZH · 第7版 · sense 2 · 给 · the book is the object · English has a bare object or to · no case ending
Move 给 inside ApplHAVE · sense 2
EN · ZH · bare recipient
Can you lend me one?
你能借我一本吗？
ZH · English Wiktionary · “to lend” · 我 has no 给 · the translation is that entry’s · 國語辭典 prints 这支笔借你用一下
Move bare recipient · the seventh edition’s sense 2 prints 给 instead
EN · ZH · same 借 · Source 向
Borrow a book from him.
向他借书
ZH · 第7版 · sense 1 · 向 is the source · 跟人借钱 is the other source marker · 从 is unprinted · Bulgarian от is the other one-lemma person-source
Move same root · 向 where English has from and a second verb
EN · ZH · 出借
Newly arrived periodicals are not being lent out for the moment.
新到的期刊暂不出借。
ZH · 第7版 · 出借 · the periodical is the theme · no recipient · the definition says 多指物品 · no register label
Move 出借 · the person is unfilled
Argument difference. English lend X to Y does not mean borrow. Pat lent Chris the book and Pat borrowed the book from Chris are two verbs. The recipient of lend is a bare object or to. The source of borrow is from. 借 is one root. In the seventh edition the give frame has the lender as subject, the thing as object, and the other person in 给. The get frame has the borrower as subject and the person in 向 or 跟. Other dictionaries print a bare recipient and no 给. 从 is unprinted. There is no case ending. Polish pożyczyć uses a bare dative against od. German leihen uses a dative Recipient and a reflexive dative plus von or bei. Bulgarian заемам uses a dative clitic or на against от. Rent is 出租, unlike 貸す.
Dictionary lines · quoted as printed
向他借书 · 跟人借钱 · 把笔借给我用一下 · 借书给他 · 借钱给人 第7版 · 借 ¹ · senses 1 and 2
你能借我一本吗？ · 我可以借你的书吗？ English Wiktionary · lend example · borrow example
这支笔借你用一下。 國語辭典 · give sense
这把伞借你 · 车借你用 · 有借有还，再借不难 两岸通用词典
新到的期刊暂不出借。 第7版 · 出借
The strings below that are not in the block above are constructed, modelled on 借书给他, 向他借书, 跟人借钱, and 把笔借给我. They are not spontaneous-speech citations and not dictionary lines. 帕特 / 克里斯 continue the named-participant series on 卖.
✓ 借书给他
第7版 · sense 2 · 借钱给人 is the money line · 给 follows the theme
✓ 帕特借书给克里斯。
constructed · 给 of the named series · modelled on 借书给他 · not a dictionary line
✓ 你能借我一本吗？
English Wiktionary · bare recipient · no 给 · 國語辭典 借你 · 两岸 伞借你
✓ 向他借书
第7版 · sense 1 · 向 · 跟人借钱 is 跟 · same root as 借书给他
✓ 帕特向克里斯借书。
constructed · 向 of the named series · modelled on 向他借书 · 从克里斯 is unprinted and is not this string
✓ 把笔借给我用一下
第7版 · sense 1 · 把 fronts the pen · the article files the line with 借进 · not moved to sense 2
✓ 新到的期刊暂不出借。
第7版 · 出借 · no person · CC-CEDICT “to lend; to put out a loan” · Wiktionary “to lend”
The marker is an operation on a place the clause already has. Neither 给 nor 向 adds a second English verb by itself. The root stays 借.
给, and a bare recipient. The recipient of sense 2 is 给 plus a noun phrase. English spells the same role as a bare object or as to. Wiktionary, 國語辭典, and the cross-strait give examples spell it as a bare person, with no 给. The two clothes stay unranked. The 给 article’s note about omitting 给 names 还 and 送, not 借. Full noun phrases show no case ending.
向 and 跟 on the same 借. Sense 1 does not change the root. 向他 and 跟人 are the person. 从 is unprinted. German adds a reflexive dative and von or bei. No line of the returnable thing read here has a reflexive. Wiktionary’s 你的书 names the owner inside the theme. It is not 向你.
出借 and the gloss 借出. Sense 2’s gloss word is 借出. The separate article is 出借, definition 借出去（多指物品）, example 新到的期刊暂不～. CC-CEDICT and Wiktionary list both 出借 and 借出 as “to lend”. Neither seventh-edition line prints a register label, and neither prints a person beside the periodical. 借出 is not a separate seventh-edition article in the pages read.
A 借 line with only a theme does not grow a direction out of a coverb it does not have. The seventh edition files the directions under two senses, and the examples that show a person use 向, 跟, or 给. The cross-strait get sense prints 借书 and 借钱 with no person. CC-CEDICT glosses bare 借 as borrow and puts lend on the combination with 给 or 出. 向 does not take over the recipient that 给 has.
Each sketch is a working drawing, not a locked analysis. The point of the drawing is one theme, a recipient that is 给 or a bare person where that shape is printed, and a source on the same 借 that is 向 or 跟. Open one sketch at a time. The low ApplHAVE claim is the same working claim as on pay, and it stays revisable.
借 has both subjects · the root is one
[VoiceP 帕特 Voice ← Lender · sense 2 · 借出 … 给 … ] [VoiceP 帕特 Voice ← Borrower · sense 1 · 借进 … 向 / 跟 … ]
✓ 借书给他 第7版 · sense 2 · the subject hands the book over
✓ 向他借书 第7版 · sense 1 · the subject takes the book · same root
English puts the two external arguments of the returnable thing on lend and borrow. 借 has both, in two numbered senses. The pair of senses does not open a second lemma.
Give sense · one Recipient · 给 or a bare person · inside the single verb domain
[VoiceP 帕特 Voice
[ApplP_LOW 克里斯 Appl_HAVE ← Recipient · HAVE the theme
[VP √借
[Theme 书 ] ] ] ] ← 给他 · sense 2
← or 借我 · Wiktionary · no 给
[VoiceP 帕特 Voice ← Borrower · sense 1
[VP √借
[Theme 书 ]
[向P 向克里斯 ] ] ] ← person-source · 向 or 跟
← 从 unprinted
The get sense is the same verb. The person-source is 向 or 跟. It is not a second root, and it is not a reflexive. 把笔借给我 is drawn where the article files it, under sense 1, even though the line contains 给.
✓ 给他 · 借我一本 第7版 · Wiktionary · give frames
✓ 向他 · 跟人 第7版 · get frame
✓ 把笔借给我用一下 第7版 · numbered with sense 1 · not redrawn as sense 2
the separate article · the gloss word 借出 · no further label on 暂时
借 ¹ sense 1 借进 · sense 2 借出 ← 第7版 · one root
出借 ← separate article
借出 · 借给 ← CC-CEDICT and Wiktionary headwords
· not 第7版 articles in the pages read
新到的期刊暂不出借 ← no person
暂时 · 有借有还 ← definition and saying
三天 ← unprinted · not drawn
✓ 新到的期刊暂不出借 第7版 · 出借
✓ 有借有还，再借不难 两岸 · 國語辭典 · the saying · not a duration
Nothing here is a claim about the stretch named 暂时. The return wording stays in the lines that print it.
Working · no English lend page is opened · Bulgarian заемам · German leihen · Polish pożyczyć
[VoiceP 帕特 Voice ← Lender
[ApplP_LOW 给克里斯 Appl_HAVE ← Recipient · 给
[VP √借
[Theme 书 ] ] ] ] ← sense 2
· English lend me the book
· or lend the book to Chris
· or 借我 · a bare person
[VoiceP 帕特 Voice ← Borrower · same 借
[VP √借
[Theme 书 ]
[向P 向克里斯 ] ] ] ← 向 or 跟
· English borrow … from
· Bulgarian заемам … от
· 从 of this person unprinted
English keeps the two directions of the returnable thing on two verbs. 借 keeps both, and the marker selects in the seventh-edition examples. German keeps both directions and adds a reflexive dative. Rent stays on 出租.
| Layer | lend (EN) · no page | borrow (EN) · no page | 借 | заемам · leihen |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spec,Voice | Lender | Borrower | Lender in sense 2 · Borrower in sense 1 · one root | Bulgarian and German keep both subjects on one lemma · German adds a reflexive dative on the borrow frame |
| other party | bare object, or to | from | 给 on sense 2 · a bare person in Wiktionary, 國語辭典, and the cross-strait give lines · 向 or 跟 on sense 1 · 从 unprinted · no case ending | Bulgarian dative clitic or на, and от · German dative, and von or bei |
| object | the theme | the theme | one thing, including 钱 · 把 can front it, as in the sense-1 line | one object on заемам · one accusative on leihen |
| 出借 | none | none | separate article · theme, no person in the example · gloss word 借出 inside sense 2 · no register label | Bulgarian назаем is an adverb beside another verb · German leihen has no particle |
| rent | rent is another lemma | unasserted here | 出租 / 租 is the rent pair · 给 is unprinted on the 出租 examples | Bulgarian давам под наем · Japanese rent is the same 貸す |
On the give sense, the recipient comes to HAVE the thing for the stretch the definitions call 暂时 and this page does not label. On 付, the object can be the money paid over. On 借 a money object is the Theme. On 出租 the lessor examples name the goods and do not print 给. On 貸す the paid reading stays on the lend verb.
Working paper · October 2026 · Mandarin micro-entry · Beyond Index 2
Temporary transfer in Mandarin. One root 借. Lender or borrower as subject. Theme the thing. Recipient 给, or a bare person where that shape is printed. Source 向 or 跟. 从 is unprinted. No case ending. 出借 is a separate article. Rent is 出租 / 租.
Not a flat grid of four sisters. A flat grid would give 借 a Recipient, a Source, a Theme, and a duration in one clause. The entries read here do not print that clause. 借 shows one thing, the Theme, and one other party: 给 or a bare person when the subject lends, 向 or 跟 when the subject borrows from a person.
钱 = one object. The money sits in the theme slot. 暂时 is the definition. 有借有还 is the saying. They are not a second object beside the thing.
What Mandarin shows, against the English gloss lend X to Y, is where the direction lives. English uses lend or borrow. Lend takes a bare recipient or to. Borrow takes from. 借 uses one root. In the seventh edition the give marker is 给. The person on the get frame is 向 or 跟. Other dictionaries print a bare recipient. A noun has no case ending. Bulgarian uses a dative clitic or на against от. German uses a reflexive and von or bei.
In 借书给他, the subject hands over the book. In 向他借书, the subject takes the book from him. The definitions name a stretch of use with 暂时. This page quotes that wording and does not add a further label.
Dictionary frames: the seventh edition of 现代汉语词典 as printed at hanzi8 under 借, 出借, 转借, 求借, 借款, 借用, and 给. The 两岸通用词典 and 國語辭典 blocks on the hanzi8 character page for 借. CC-CEDICT, MDBG UTF-8 export dated 2026-10-07, under 借, 借给, 借出, and 出借. English Wiktionary under 借, 出借, and 借出. The constructed clauses are 帕特借书给克里斯, 帕特向克里斯借书, 帕特跟克里斯借钱, and 帕特把书借给克里斯. Index 2 does not list 借. Mandarin in Index 2 is 赌.
Records 借 as one root: 给 or a bare person when the subject lends, 向 or 跟 when the subject borrows from a person. Records 从 as unprinted. Records 把笔借给我用一下 under sense 1, where the seventh edition files it. Records 出借 as a separate article with no person in the example. Records a duration numeral as unprinted. Records rent as 出租 / 租.