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假象 (jiǎ xiàng) — false appearance, misleading impression, facade

Definition

An illusory look that hides the real nature of things — 'a false appearance' or 'facade'. Often paired with 迷惑 ('be misled by 假象') to flag a deceptive surface vs. 本质 ('the essence').

noun
false appearancemisleading impressionfacade

Examples

  • 假象。
    Zhè ge biǎo miàn hé píng de jiǎ xiàng ràng rén fàng sōng le jǐng tì.
    This semblance of peace made people let down their guard.
  • 假象，。
    Wǒ men bù néng bèi shì wù de jiǎ xiàng suǒ mí huò, yào kàn dào běn zhì.
    We must not be misled by the appearance of things; we must see the essence.
  • 假象，。
    Tā de yǒu hǎo zhǐ shì yí gè jiǎ xiàng, qí shí tā lìng yǒu mù dì.
    His friendliness was just a facade; in fact he had ulterior motives.

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
象xiàngappearance

假 means false and 象 means appearance, giving a misleading appearance.

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 →

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

象 is drawn as an elephant, with a long trunk, a head, and a big body.

Open 象 →
Appears in
Abstract Concepts

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