The Chinese word **幌子 (huǎngzi)** is formed through a combination of its constituent characters and a process of semantic extension: originally, the character **幌** referred to a curtain, veil, or a shop sign (a cloth banner hung outside traditional businesses), while the suffix **子** is a common nominalizer. Historically, a 幌子 was a tangible, often decorative sign used to identify a shop's trade (e.g., a wine shop hanging a gourd-shaped sign). Over time, the term underwent metaphorical generalization; just as a shop sign is an outward indicator that may not reveal the full reality inside, the word came to signify a **facade, pretense, or cover**—something used to disguise true intentions or create a misleading appearance. Thus, the formation of "幌子" reflects an evolution from a concrete noun for a physical object to an abstract noun denoting a deceptive front.