假

叚

gēi, jiǎ, jià

亻 + 叚

HSK 2.0Level 4

HSK 3.0Level 4

Definitions

jiǎ (adjective) fake; false; artificial

jiǎ (verb,particle) to borrow; if; suppose

jià (noun) vacation; leave; holiday

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 亻 represents the meaning and 叚 represents the sound.

About

The character 假 is formed with the person radical 亻 on the left and the component 叚 on the right, which provides the pronunciation. Its original meaning was the act of borrowing, taking something temporarily rather than owning it permanently. Over time, the concept of something temporary and not truly owned shifted to denote 'false, artificial, or fake' (jiǎ). Additionally, the notion of a temporary leave, a borrowed break from regular labor, led to the alternative reading jià, meaning holiday, vacation, or leave of absence.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Seal Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Clerical Cao Wei (Three Kingdoms: 222-280 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

这是一个假苹果。

Zhè shì yī gè jiǎ píngguǒ.

This is a fake apple.

他请假去旅行。

Tā qǐngjiǎ qù lǚxíng.

He asked for leave to travel.

她假装很开心。

Tā jiǎzhuāng hěn kāixīn.

She pretends to be very happy.

暑假我们去了海边。

Shǔjià wǒmen qùle hǎibiān.

During summer vacation, we went to the seaside.

假设明天不下雨，我们就去公园。

Jiǎshè míngtiān bù xià yǔ, wǒmen jiù qù gōngyuán.

If it doesn't rain tomorrow, we will go to the park.

这条新闻是虚假的。

Zhè tiáo xīnwén shì xūjiǎ de.

This piece of news is false.

他利用假期学习新技能。

Tā lìyòng jiàqī xuéxí xīn jìnéng.

He used the vacation to learn new skills.

尽管那是假钻石，但看起来非常逼真。

Jǐnguǎn nà shì jiǎ zuànshí, dàn kàn qǐlái fēicháng bīzhēn.

Even though that is a fake diamond, it looks very realistic.

Related Characters

Component: 亻

Component: 叚

假