Street Talk: 真假的？

Hi and welcome to our first segment of Street Talk, where we will be discussing common phrases and expressions heard off the streets of Taiwan! Coming to you live from Taipei, this is Lillian N. from The ABC Guide to Studying Abroad in Taiwan. I will be your host today, so let's get started shall we?

Today's phrase is 真假的 (Zhēn jiǎ de)?

Now this is a phrase I've heard used a lot: on the streets, in a phone conversation, mostly used by the youths, though adults use this phrase too. It is usually said in a tone of shock, surprise, or disbelief, the way one might exclaim in English, "Really?!?" or "No way!"

But what does this phrase mean exactly? Let us start by deconstructing it, character by character.

1. 真 (Zhēn) - By itself, this character means "real" or "truth" as in, "This is real jade" (這是真玉), or "It's the truth!" (是真的!) It can also be used to mean really, as in very: "He's really (very) impressive" (他真厲害), or as an exclamation: "Really?" (真的嗎?).
2. 假 (Jiǎ) - When said in fourth tone, this character is being used as a noun and means "vacation" or "day off," but when said in third tone, as is the case here, it is a stative verb meaning, "fake" or "artificial;" for example, "She was wearing fake eyelashes" (她戴著假睫毛).
3.  的 (de) - A possessive particle; when used with 真的 or 假的, it means "real" or "fake," respectively.

Altogether, these three characters mean, "Really?" or "Is this for real?" carrying with it a connotation of shock and disbelief. For example, if your friend were to tell you how her boyfriend couldn't make it to her important event because his brother had crashed his car, the public transportation he needed was down for repairs, and he got stuck in traffic taking the taxi, you might respond with a dubious, "真假的?"

Likewise, if you heard the story of an overly dramatic proposal complete with song, dance, stallions, and birds, you might shriek an unbelieving, "真假的?!?"

However, this phrase can also be used to mean, "Is this real or fake?" (這是真假的?), for example if someone asks for your number, which you give after much hemming and hawing, he might ask, a bit suspiciously, "這是真假的?" or just "是真假的?" meaning, "Is this really your number?"

That concludes our lesson on "真假的?" and I hope you have enjoyed our first segment of Street Talk. Join us next time for another lesson on commonly used idioms and phrases!