照镜子

zhào jìng zi

to look in the mirror

zhào

according to

jìng

mirror

zi

noun suffix, as in 椅子[yi3 zi5] "chair"

illuminate (照) + metal mirror (镜) + child suffix (子) = look in the mirror

照 combines brightness with fire (灬) to mean shining or reflecting light; 镜 pairs the metal radical (钅) with a phonetic (竟) to name a reflective metal object. Together they describe the act of peering at your own reflection.

她每天早上都照镜子

tā měi tiān zǎo shang dōu zhào jìng zi。

She looks in the mirror every morning.

照镜子的时候发现脸上有一块红。

tā zhào jìng zi de shí hou fā xiàn liǎn shang yǒu yī kuài hóng。

When he looked in the mirror, he noticed a red patch on his face.