How to Write 诈 (zhà) — Meaning “To cheat / To swindle / To feign”

Imagine someone suddenly (乍) says something (讠) that sounds good but is actually a lie. Picture a person speaking quickly to trick you, and the word 'zha' sounds like 'jazz' — a smooth talker might cheat you with fancy words.

The left radical 讠 should be narrow and written first with two strokes (a dot and a horizontal-turning stroke). The right part 乍 has five strokes: start with a left-falling stroke, then one horizontal, one vertical, another horizontal, and a final horizontal — keep the two horizontal lines parallel and slightly shorter than the top one.

诈 means to cheat or feign, while 讦 (jié) means to expose someone's faults or to accuse, and 讧 (hòng) means to quarrel or dispute. Visually, 诈 has 乍 on the right, 讦 has 干 (gàn, to do), and 讧 has 工 (gōng, work). In meaning, 诈 is about deception, not accusation or arguing.

诈 is very common in words like 诈骗 (zhàpiàn, fraud) and 欺诈 (qīzhà, cheating). You will see it in news about scams, fake calls, or online fraud. In daily life, Chinese people often warn each other about 诈骗 using public safety announcements.

Common words containing 诈 include: 诈骗 (zhà piàn) — Fraud / To swindle / Scam; 欺诈 (qī zhà) — fraud; to cheat; 诈称 (zhà chēng) — To claim falsely / To pretend to be.