伪造

• Pinyin: wěi zào
• Hanzi breakdown: 伪 = 人 (person) + 为 (act) — false, fake, counterfeit; 造 = 辶 (walk) + 告 (report) — to make, create

Meaning

To forge; to counterfeit; to fabricate. To create a fake document, signature, identity, currency, or evidence with intent to deceive.

伪造 implies deliberate criminal deception — creating something false to pass it off as genuine. 伪造证件 (forging documents/ID), 伪造签名 (forging a signature), 伪造证据 (fabricating evidence), 伪造货币 (counterfeiting currency). 伪造罪 is a criminal offence under Chinese law. Not to be confused with 篡改 (tampering with/altering an existing document) or 伪装 (disguising oneself).

Examples

1. 他因伪造学历证书和工作经历骗取职位，最终被公司识破并移交警方处理。 He forged academic certificates and fabricated work experience to obtain a position, and was ultimately exposed by the company and handed over to the police.
2. 警方经过调查确认，该团伙长期从事伪造护照和签证的违法犯罪活动。 Police investigations confirmed that the gang had been engaged in the illegal criminal activity of forging passports and visas over a long period.
3. 鉴定专家检测后认定，这幅署名名家的画作系伪造，市场价值几乎为零。 After testing, the appraisal expert determined that this painting attributed to a famous master is a forgery, with almost zero market value.

Usage Guide

Context: law, crime, documents

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 任何伪造官方文件的行为都构成犯罪，一经查实将面临刑事处罚。(Any act of forging official documents constitutes a crime — once verified, the perpetrator faces criminal punishment.)
• 这批伪造的名牌商品以假乱真的程度令人咋舌，普通消费者根本难以分辨。(The degree to which these counterfeit branded goods pass as genuine is astonishing — ordinary consumers find it nearly impossible to tell the difference.)

Don't Say

• 将伪造与篡改混淆 — 伪造 means creating something false from scratch; 篡改 means altering an existing genuine document; the two are distinct offences

Origin & History

Compound of 伪 (false, counterfeit — 人 person + 为 act: a person acting falsely) + 造 (to make, create — 辶 walk + 告 report). Together: to deliberately manufacture something false.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal