How to use “放假” and “假期” in Chinese

People learning Chinese can sometimes get the words 放假 (fàngjià) and 假期 (jiàqī) mixed up and use them incorrectly. Here's a quick explanation of how to use these words.

学中文的人有时会把"放假"和"假期"混淆起来，且容易用错。本文将快速解释如何使用这两个词。

The difference is actually fairly simple, you just need to remember it: 放假 is a verb and 假期 is a noun.

其不同之处很简单，你只需记住："放假"是动词，而"假期"是名词。

放假: to be on holiday, to have a vacation

放假 is a verb meaning "to be on holiday" or "to have a holiday". More specifically, it simply means a period of time off work, without necessarily meaning that you go travelling somewhere.

"放假"是动词，意思是"to be on holiday"或"to have a holiday"。具体一点，它就是"休一段时间不上班"的意思，并不一定说是去某地_旅游。

It's fairly easy to remember that 放假 is a verb if you look at the first character: 放 is a verb itself. Together, the word is literally something like "to be set free on holiday".

要记住"放假"是个动词非常容易，你可以看看它的第一个字："放"本身就是个动词。组合一起时，这个词按字面来说就是"to be set free on holiday"的意思。

The most important thing to remember here is that 放假 is always a verb and cannot be used as a noun.

这里需要重点记住的是"放假"一直是动词，不能用作名词。

Let's have a look at some example sentences for 放假:

看看"放假"的一些例句：

我们下个星期放假。

wǒmen xià gè xīngqī fàngjià.

We go on holiday next week.

学校今年早点放假。

xuéxiào jīnnián zǎodiǎn fàngjià.

School finishes earlier this year.

假期: a holiday, a vacation

Unlike 放假 above, 假期 is a noun. Again, you can remember this by looking at the hanzi that make up the word: 期 is usually a noun. Literally the word is "holiday period".

与上述的"放假"不同的是，"假期"是个名词。同样地，你可以通过看其组成的汉字去记忆："期"一般是个名词，这个词的字面意思是"holiday period"。

As with 放假, remember that 假期 is specifically about being off work or not having classes etc.. It doesn't necessarily mean that you go travelling or do something in particular, just that you are at leisure.

和"放假一样"，记住"假期"具体是说不上班或没上课等情况，它不一定指你去旅游或特意做某事，仅仅是说你有空闲时间。

Let's have a look at some example sentences:

看看一些例句：

这个假期她出去旅行。

zhège jiàqī tā chūqù lǚxíng.

She went travelling during the holiday.

我们期待着一个快乐的假期。

wǒmen qídàizhe yīgè kuàilè de jiàqī.

We're looking forward to a happy vacation.

你假期玩得开心吗？

jiàqī nǐ wán de kāixīn ma?

Did you have a good time during the holiday?

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Translated from: Chinese Boost

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