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放假 (fàng jià) — to have a holiday, to be on vacation; to take time off from work or school

Definition

放假 describes the holiday period itself (school is on break, company is closed), not the act of going away. 度假 is specifically 'going on vacation' (traveling); 请假 means 'to ask for personal leave'.

verb
to have a holidayto be on vacationto take time off from work or school

Examples

  • 放假。
    Míng tiān xué xiào fàng jià.
    Tomorrow the school has a holiday.
  • 。
    Chūn jié wǒ men fàng qī tiān jiǎ.
    We have seven days off for Spring Festival.
  • 放假。
    fàng jià Yǐ hòu wǒ xiǎng qù lǚ xíng.
    After the holiday I want to travel.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

放fàngrelease/grant
假jiǎholiday

“放” means to release or grant, and “假” is the holiday being granted.

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
攵Written in full as攴pūhand, action
Sound part声符shēngfú
方
方fāng放fàng
Same sound today

放 uses 方 for its sound and 攵, a hand/action part, to mark an action of release.

Open 放 →

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
HSK 3.0 Level 3Daily RoutineFestivals & Holidays

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