About
The character 假, in its traditional form which remains structurally identical to its simplified counterpart, is composed of the semantic component 人 (human) and the phonetic component 叚, which itself originally depicted the borrowing of an object, conveying a sense of transfer or intermediacy. Its earliest meanings were not "false" but rather "to borrow" or "to lend", and by extension, "to rely on" or "by means of", indicating something provisional or not inherently one's own. From this foundation of non-originality and dependence, the meaning naturally expanded to encompass notions of artifice and insincerity, giving rise to its primary modern sense of "false" or "fake", as something that borrows the appearance of authenticity. This semantic progression also allowed the character to acquire the related meaning of "holiday" or "leave", as a period of time borrowed from one's regular duties.
Etymology Hide
Example Sentences Hide
这是一个假苹果。
他请假去旅行。
她假装很开心。
暑假我们去了海边。
假设明天不下雨，我们就去公园。
这条新闻是虚假的。
他利用假期学习新技能。
尽管那是假钻石，但看起来非常逼真。