诈 meaning and stroke order
To cheat, to defraud; sly, treacherous
How to write 诈, stroke by stroke
7 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 诈
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to cheat
- to swindle
- to pretend
- to feign
- to draw sb out
- to try to extract information by deceit or bluff
How 诈 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Speech.
讠 gives the meaning and 乍 hints at the sound.
Radical: 讠 (words), shared by 144 characters on this site.
How to remember 诈
诈 combines the speech radical 讠 with 乍 (zhà), which gives the sound. Picture someone whose words 讠 suddenly change, telling lies to cheat you.
诈 rarely stands alone in modern Chinese and mostly appears in compounds like 诈骗 (zhàpiàn) and 敲诈 (qiāozhà), which you will see often in news and police warnings. Example: 小心电话诈骗。(Xiǎoxīn diànhuà zhàpiàn.) Watch out for phone scams.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 诈 with 炸 (zhà, to explode) or 作 (zuò, to do), since all share 乍. Remember that only 诈 has the speech radical 讠, because cheating is done with words.
Common words with 诈
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
诈 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 诈
How many strokes are in 诈?
诈 is written with 7 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 诈 mean?
诈 (zhà) means to cheat, to defraud; sly, treacherous. A common word with it is 诈骗 (zhàpiàn), meaning "to defraud; to swindle".
How do you pronounce 诈?
诈 is pronounced zhà, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 诈?
The radical of 诈 is 讠, which carries the idea of "words". Dictionaries list 诈 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 诈?
The traditional form of 诈 is 詐. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 诈 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 诈 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 诈 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What does 诈 mean in 诈我 or 别诈我?
Here 诈 means to bluff someone to get information out of them. 别诈我 (bié zhà wǒ) means something like "Don't try to trick me into telling you."
What is the difference between 诈骗 and 欺骗?
诈骗 (zhàpiàn) usually means fraud aimed at getting money or property, often a crime. 欺骗 (qīpiàn) is broader and means to deceive or lie to someone in general.