前车之覆，后车之鉴 in English qian2 che1 zhi1 fu4 , hou4 che1 zhi1 jian4 Meaning

Meanings

  • literally (word for word) the cart in front overturns, a warning to the following cart (idiomatic expression); metaphorically draw lesson from the failure of one's predecessor
  • learn from past mistake
  • once bitten twice shy

Simplified Characters

前 车 之 覆 ， 后 车 之 鉴

Traditional Characters

前 車 之 覆 ， 後 車 之 鑒

Pinyin

qian2 che1 zhi1 fu4 , hou4 che1 zhi1 jian4

Literal

Literal explanation, with pronunciation and meaning of each character.

前qian2front 车che1surname Che 之zhi1(possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的[de5]) 覆fu4variant of 復|复[fu4] ， 后hou4surname Hou 车che1surname Che 之zhi1(possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的[de5]) 鉴jian4variant of 鑑|鉴[jian4]