假 (jiǎ) means "false" with HSK 3 on the new exam.
Pronunciation
Meaning
Primary: false
Etymology
Oracle-bone origin
假 is not attested in oracle bone script and is generally treated as a phono-semantic compound that emerged later. The left component 亻 (person) carries the semantic hint, while the right component 叚 supplies the sound and an older meaning of borrowing. 叚 itself is thought to depict two hands passing something across a cliff or boundary, giving the sense of handing over or lending.
Form evolution
Bronze and seal script forms show 叚 with clearly separated hand elements on either side of a central object, which clerical script compressed and squared off. By the 楷书 stage the two hand shapes have been regularised into the stacked strokes on the right side of the modern character, and the 亻 radical was fixed on the left. The internal structure of 叚 is no longer transparent to most modern readers.
How the meaning evolved
The earliest recorded meaning is to borrow or lend, which then extended to the idea of something temporary or not one's own, and from there to false, fake, or artificial. The sense of a holiday or leave (as in 放假, 假期) comes from the same root, framing time off as time borrowed from normal duties. Modern Mandarin uses both readings: jiǎ for false and jià for leave.
Cultural note
The idiom 狐假虎威 (the fox borrows the tiger's might) preserves the original meaning of borrowing rather than faking, and is a common classical reference point. Learners often memorise only the jiǎ reading and are surprised to meet 暑假 (summer vacation) pronounced jià.
Basic info
Example sentences
Words containing 假
On the new HSK 3 exam
Studying for HSK 3? Keep 假 with the rest of your level.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Reviewed by RJ Murray, Founder, HSK Lord.