假期
jiàqí · HSK 2
vacation
🏖️ 假期 = false/borrowed (假) + period (期); time borrowed from work
假 originally meant borrow or false, then time off borrowed from duty. 期 marks a fixed period or term. Together: a sanctioned stretch of time away from work or school — a holiday or leave.
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).
期 — 其 (phonetic) + 月 (moon/time)
期 is a phono-semantic compound. The right side 月 (moon) signals meaning, since lunar cycles marked fixed time periods in ancient China. The left side 其 supplies the sound. Together it points to a set time, period, or appointed date — meanings still carried today in words like 期间 and 日期.