虚假 (xū jiǎ) — false, phony, fake | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

虚假 (xūjiǎ) means 'false, fake' in a deliberate, deceptive sense — about information, claims, or appearances meant to mislead. Stronger than 假 (neutral 'not real'); for people being two-faced, prefer 虚伪.

adjective

falsephonyfake

Examples

虚假，。
Tā de wēi xiào hěn xū jiǎ, ràng rén gǎn jué bù zhēn chéng.
His smile is very fake, making people feel insincere.
虚假，。
Bú yào chuán bō xū jiǎ xìn xī, nà huì wù dǎo bié rén.
Don't spread false information; it will mislead others.
虚假。
Zhè piān wén zhāng bāo hán le hěn duō xū jiǎ miáo shù.
This article contains many false descriptions.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

虚 (empty) and 假 (fake) combine to mean not genuine.

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 虛; 虚 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

丘丘qiūhill

Sound part声符shēngfú

虍

虍hū虛xū

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

The traditional form 虛 pairs the upper 虍, which gives the sound, with a lower part shaped like 丘, 'hill'; the simplified 虚 is a later shorthand.

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 HSK 2.0 Level 6 Good & Bad

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