TSUMUGU · TOCFL 2 (est.) · 字
假
假 ＝ 亻 ＋ 叚
ㄐㄧㄚˇ · jiǎ/jià
adj — false, not real; (jià) leave, a holiday; if, suppose
字源 FORM — what the parts do
亻義a person — the one doing the borrowing or pretending
叚聲jiǎ — gives the soundtwo hands passing a thing under a cliff — to borrow
The right half 叚 (jiǎ) — two hands passing something across under an overhang, the old graph for borrowing — carries the sound. Add a person (亻): what is taken on loan rather than owned outright, hence not the real thing — 假的, 真假; suppose-for-now, 假如, 假設. Read jià, the borrowed time off work — 放假, 假期.
意 · Meanings
jiǎ
(本義)假的、虛假— false, not real常用
→假如、假設— if, suppose常用
jià
(假借)放假、假期— leave, a holiday常用
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension
關 · Related
暇xiáthe lookalike — 暇 carries the same under a sun 日 (spare time); 假 carries it beside a person