卖假 (mài jiǎ) — to sell counterfeit goods; to sell fakes

Definition

卖假 is a colloquial verb-object phrase meaning 'to sell counterfeit/fake goods', used in legal, commercial, and everyday news contexts. The object 假 refers to fake or counterfeit items (e.g., 名牌, 药).

verb
to sell counterfeit goodsto sell fakes
Easily confused

Examples

  • 卖假。
    Tā yīn wèi mài jiǎ bèi jǐng chá zhuā le.
    He was arrested by the police for selling counterfeit goods.
  • 卖假，。
    Zhè ge wǎng zhàn shàng yǒu rén mài jiǎ, dà jiā yào xiǎo xīn.
    Some people sell fakes on this website, so everyone should be careful.
  • 卖假。
    Tā men zhuān mén mài jiǎ míng pái shǒu biǎo.
    They specialize in selling counterfeit brand-name watches.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

卖màisell
假jiǎfake

卖 means sell, and 假 means fake; together they mean selling fake things.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 賣; 卖 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 賣 came from an older shape that joined 出 (go out) with 買 (buy), which gives the sound. The simplified 卖 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical ones.

Open 卖 →

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 →

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