假 jiǎ fake
fake; if
jiǎ (false) and jià (vacation) - 假话 jiǎhuà, 放假 fàngjià
How to remember 假: 亻 person + 叚 borrow = fake. One person at the gala had to borrow a tuxedo and a watch, and the diamond on his finger is fake.
Component breakdown
假 = 亻 person + 叚 borrow
- 亻 person
- 叚 borrow
One person at the gala had to borrow a tuxedo and a watch, and the diamond on his finger is fake.
How it is used
- Two readings split cleanly. jiǎ = "fake, false": 假话 (jiǎhuà) a lie, 假的 (jiǎ de) fake, opposite of 真 (zhēn); also "if" in 假如 (jiǎrú)/假设 (jiǎshè) - 真话 (zhēnhuà) the truth.
- jià = "holiday, leave": 放假 (fàngjià) to be on vacation, 请假 (qǐngjià) to ask for time off, 暑假 (shǔjià) summer break, 假期 (jiàqī) vacation period.
- Same character, so context and tone decide: 假期 (jiàqī, vacation) vs 假期望 would be odd - reading follows meaning, not spelling.
Words with 假
- 请假qǐng jiàto ask for time offHSK 3
- 休假xiūjiàto go on vacationHSK 3
- 假期jiàqīvacationHSK 3
- 放假fàngjiàto have a holiday or vacationHSK 3
- 寒假hánjiàwinter vacationHSK 4
- 假日jiàrìa holidayHSK 4
- 度假dùjiàto go on holidaysHSK 4
- 暑假shǔjiàsummer vacationHSK 4
- 节假日jiéjiàrìpublic holidayHSK 4
- 假如jiǎrúifHSK 5
- 假设jiǎshèto supposeHSK 6
- 假使jiǎshǐifHSK 7
- 假冒jiǎmàoto impersonateHSK 7
- 假定jiǎdìngto assumeHSK 7
- 不假思索bùjiǎ-sīsuǒto act without taking time to thinkHSK 8
- 假装jiǎzhuāngto feignHSK 8
- 弄虚作假nòngxū-zuòjiǎto practice fraud (idiom)HSK 8
- 虚假xūjiǎfalseHSK 9
- 造假zàojiǎto counterfeitHSK 9
Example sentences
- 这张10美元钞票是假的。 zhè zhāng 10 měi yuán chāo piào shì jiǎ de。This ten-dollar note is a counterfeit .
- 他请假了。 Tā qǐngjià le.He took a vacation.
- 假如天晴了，我就和你去爬山。 Jiǎrú tiān qíng le, wǒ jiù hé nǐ qù páshān.If the weather clears, I will go climbing with you.
- 假如明天开会，准备工作来得及吗？ Jiǎrú míngtiān kāihuì, zhǔnbèi gōngzuò láidejí ma？Supposing we hold the meeting tomorrow, will there be enough time to prepare?