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伪君子 (wěi jūn zǐ) — hypocrite (a person who pretends to have high moral standards they do not actually live by)

Definition

A hypocrite — someone who pretends to be virtuous or noble on the surface but is the opposite underneath. The word contrasts sharply with 君子 ('a true gentleman / person of noble character'), which the 伪 ('fake') negates.

noun
hypocrite (a person who pretends to have high moral standards they do not actually live by)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • ，伪君子。
    Bié xiāng xìn tā de huà, tā shì gè wěi jūn zǐ.
    Don't believe what he says — he's a hypocrite.
  • 伪君子。
    Dà jiā dōu kàn chuān le zhè ge wěi jūn zǐ de zhēn miàn mù.
    Everyone saw through this hypocrite's true colors.
  • ，伪君子。
    Biǎo miàn shàng tā hěn zhèng zhí, shí jì shang shì gè wěi jūn zǐ.
    On the surface he seems upright, but he's actually a hypocrite.

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.

伪wěifalse
君子gentleman
君jūnnoble子zǐperson
偏正Modifier + head

伪 means false, and 君子 names a gentleman, where 君 points to a noble person and 子 to a person, giving a false gentleman.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 偽; 伪 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
亻Written in full as人rénman
Sound part声符shēngfú
為
為wéi偽wěi
Same sound today

The modern 伪 comes from the traditional form 偽, where 亻 (man) marks the idea as about a person and 為 gives the sound and means “to make”; together they originally meant “artificial”.

Open 伪 →

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
口口kǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
尹
尹yǐn君jūn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

君 combines 尹 and 口. Early forms were often interchangeable with 尹, and 口 may show commands or simply be decorative.

Open 君 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

子 is drawn as a baby with a large head, arms stretched out, and legs wrapped in a blanket.

Open 子 →
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Personality & Traits

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