假道学 (jiǎ dào xué) — hypocrite (especially one who feigns moral or scholarly virtue)

Definition

A literary term for someone who pretends to be moral and learned but isn't. Stronger and more formal than the everyday 伪君子 (hypocrite).

noun
hypocrite (especially one who feigns moral or scholarly virtue)

Examples

  • ，假道学。
    Tā biǎo miàn shàng mǎn kǒu rén yì dào dé, qí shí shì gè jiǎ dào xué.
    He talks about benevolence and morality all the time, but he's actually a hypocrite.
  • 假道学，。
    Nà xiē jiǎ dào xué zǒng shì pī píng bié rén, zì jǐ què zuò tóng yàng de shì.
    Those hypocrites always criticize others but do the same things themselves.
  • 假道学，。
    Bié bèi tā de jiǎ dào xué wài biǎo piàn le, tā bìng bù zhēn chéng.
    Don't be fooled by his hypocritical appearance; he's not sincere.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

假jiǎfalse
道学learning about the Way
道dàoway学xuélearning
偏正Modifier + head

假 means false, 道学 is learning about the Way, so a hypocrite who feigns moral scholarship.

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
叚
叚jiǎ假jiǎ
Same sound today

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

Open 假 →

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
行行xíngstreet
止止zhǐfoot
Sound part声符shēngfú
𩠐
首shǒu道dào
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

Early 道 showed a street 行, a foot 止, and a part written 首 or 𩠐; the right part of 行 later disappeared.

Open 道 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 學; 学 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 學 may have used 爻 and 六 for sound, with hands and a child added later; the simplified 学 is a shorthand.

Open 学 →

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