假装

• Pinyin: jiǎ zhuāng
• Hanzi breakdown: 假 = 亻 + 叚 (person + borrow — false, pretended); 装 = 壮 + 衣 (strong/vigorous + clothing — to dress up, to disguise)

Meaning

To pretend; to feign; to fake; to make believe; to put on an act. To deliberately create a false impression of one's feelings, state, or intentions.

Used when someone consciously acts in a way that misrepresents their true inner state. Common in everyday speech, literature, and social contexts. Covers mild social pretense as well as more deliberate deception.

Examples

1. 她假装没有听到他的话，继续低头翻看手中的文件。 She pretended not to hear him and kept her head down, flipping through the documents in her hands.
2. 孩子们在捉迷藏的游戏里假装自己是森林里的各种动物。 In their game of hide-and-seek, the children pretended to be different animals in the forest.
3. 面对突如其来的批评，他努力假装镇定，内心却早已乱作一团。 Faced with sudden criticism, he tried to act calm, but inside he was already in turmoil.

Usage Guide

Context: everyday life, social interaction, literature, psychology

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 在那场复杂的商业谈判中，他刻意假装对对方提出的条款漠不关心，以便在关键时刻争取到更有利的定价空间。(During that complex business negotiation, he deliberately pretended to be indifferent to the terms proposed by the other party so as to gain more favourable pricing room at the critical moment.)
• 她在公众场合始终假装一切如常，却独自在深夜默默承受着失去亲人后难以言说的巨大悲痛。(She always pretended in public that everything was normal, yet silently bore alone in the dead of night the immense grief that came from losing her loved one.)

Don't Say

• 假装 implies deliberate, conscious social pretense. Do not confuse with 假冒 (to counterfeit or impersonate for fraudulent purposes) or 表演 (to perform on stage). 假装 covers everyday acts of pretending, not criminal fraud or formal theatrical performance.

Origin & History

假 (false; to pretend; to borrow) + 装 (to dress; to disguise; to install; to pretend)

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal