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作假 (zuò jiǎ) — to counterfeit, to falsify (documents, products, etc.); to cheat, to play tricks; to behave affectedly, to put on airs

Definition

作假 covers three distinct uses: faking documents/products, cheating (e.g. in a game or test), and acting affectedly/putting on airs. The cheating sense is the most common in everyday talk.

verb
to counterfeitto falsify (documents, products, etc.)to cheatto play tricksto behave affectedlyto put on airs

Examples

  • 作假。
    Zhè jiā gōng sī yīn wèi zuò jiǎ bèi fá kuǎn le.
    This company was fined for counterfeiting.
  • ，。
    Tā cóng lái bú zuò jiǎ, dà jiā dōu xìn rèn tā.
    He never cheats; everyone trusts him.
  • 作假，。
    Tā shuō huà tài zuò jiǎ le, ràng rén bù shū fu.
    She speaks in such an affected way that it makes people uncomfortable.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

作zuòmake
假jiǎfalse

作 means make and 假 means false, so to make false things or cheat.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
亻Written in full as人rénperson
Sound part声符shēngfú
乍
乍zhà作zuò
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left side 亻 comes from 人, meaning 'person', and the right side 乍 gives the sound.

Open 作 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
亻Written in full as人rénperson
Sound part声符shēngfú
叚
叚jiǎ假jiǎ
Same sound today

假 pairs 亻 (person) with 叚, which gives the sound jiǎ.

Open 假 →
Appears in
Crime & Police

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