The Chinese word 假象 is a compound formed by combining two characters: 假 (jiǎ), meaning "false" or "fake", and 象 (xiàng), meaning "appearance", "phenomenon", or "image". Together, they create a new meaning that is more than the sum of its parts, specifically referring to a false appearance or an illusion, an outward phenomenon that deceives by not reflecting the true nature of a situation. This formation follows the common Chinese morphological pattern where a modifier (假) is placed before a core noun (象) to specify its type, resulting in a term widely used in both everyday and academic contexts to describe misleading perceptions.