前车之鉴
qián​chē​zhī​jiàn

lesson from previous failures

Senses

前车之鉴/ 前車之鑒 qián​chē​zhī​jiàn (also qián​jū​zhī​jiàn) variants: 前車之鑑 lesson from previous failures

(idiom) a warning or lesson drawn from observing previous mistakes or failures; literally "the overturned cart ahead serves as a mirror"

References

see 前车之鉴/前車之鑒 → 前车覆，后车戒/前車覆，後車戒
variant 前车之鉴/前車之鑑 → 前车之鉴/前車之鑒
synonym 覆车之戒/覆車之戒 → 前车之鉴/前車之鑒
see 不知丁董/不知丁董 → 前车之鉴/前車之鑒
synonym 前车可鉴/前車可鑒 → 前车之鉴/前車之鑒
synonym 后车之鉴/後車之鑒 → 前车之鉴/前車之鑒