暑假
shǔ jià · HSK 4
summer vacation
☀️🏖️ 暑假 = hot/summer + vacation/holiday
暑 means heat or hot summer (note the 日 sun radical on top), and 假 means leave or vacation. Together they form the standard term for the school summer break.
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).