扯谎 (chě huǎng) — to lie, to tell a lie | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

扯谎 (chě huǎng) is a colloquial verb meaning 'to tell a lie.' It separates as 扯了一个谎 and is more casual than the formal 说谎.

verb

to lieto tell a lie

Examples

扯谎，。
Tā xǐ huan chě huǎng, méi rén xiāng xìn tā.
He likes to lie; no one believes him.
，。
Tā chě le yí gè huǎng, jié guǒ bèi fā xiàn le.
He told a lie, and as a result he was found out.
扯谎，。
Bié chě huǎng le, shuō shí huà ba.
Stop lying, just tell the truth.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

扯 means pull, 谎 means lie, so the phrase pictures pulling out a lie.

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

手手shǒuhand

Sound part声符shēngfú

止

止zhǐ扯chě

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

扯 has 手 (hand) and 止; the hand part shows it is about hand actions, while 止 gives the sound.

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 謊; 谎 is its simplified writing.

言荒謊

Meaning part形符xíngfú

言言yánspeech

Sound part声符shēngfú

荒

荒huāng謊huǎng

Same sound today

The traditional form 謊 pairs 言 (speech) with 荒, which shows how it was pronounced; the simplified 谎 is a later shorthand.

Appears in

Communication & Speech

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