造假 (zào jiǎ) — to counterfeit; to forge; to fabricate (goods,… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

造假 is a colloquial verb meaning 'to counterfeit/fake' (goods, documents, data). It is broader than 伪造 (formal, more strictly 'to forge' documents/signatures) and 假冒 ('to pass off a fake as genuine', often goods or identity).

verb

to counterfeitto forgeto fabricate (goods, documents, data)

Examples

造假。
Zhè jiā gōng sī yīn wèi zào jiǎ bèi fá kuǎn le.
This company was fined for counterfeiting.
，。
Tā zào guò jiǎ, suǒ yǐ méi rén xiāng xìn tā.
He has forged things before, so nobody trusts him.
造假。
Jǐng fāng chá huò le yì pī zào jiǎ de wén wù.
The police seized a batch of counterfeit cultural relics.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

造 means make or fabricate and 假 means fake, so 造假 is to make something fake.

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

辵辵chuòto walk

Sound part声符shēngfú

屮

屮chè造zào

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

Its origin is unclear, but early forms of 造 include 辵 (to walk) and 口, with 屮 as a sound part, and mean go or arrive.

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

亻叚假

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.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Crime & Police

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