休假
xiūjià · HSK 2
have holiday/vacation/leave
🏖️ 休 = rest (person 亻 leaning on tree 木) + 假 = leave/time-off
休 pairs 亻(person) with 木(tree), an old etymology for resting against a tree. 假 here means leave or furlough. Together 休假 = taking rest-leave, i.e. holiday or vacation.
假 — person radical 亻 + 叚 (borrow)
假 combines the person radical 亻 with 叚, which originally meant 'to borrow' and provides the sound. The core idea is a person borrowing something, which extended to 'borrowed,' 'not real,' or 'fake.' From there it also developed the meaning 'leave/vacation' (time borrowed away from work).