to request leave; to ask for time off
HSK level
请假 is written with 21 strokes (请: 10, 假: 11). The animation replays automatically.
请假 (qǐngjià) means 'to ask for leave' — to formally request time off from work, school, or any obligation.
It is a separable verb-object compound (literally 'request leave'), which means measure words and durations slip between the two characters: 请一天假 (take one day off), 请两个小时的假 (ask for two hours off), 跟老板请假 (ask the boss for leave). English speakers often try to say 请假一天, which is ungrammatical — the duration must go in the middle. Common reasons follow with 病假 (sick leave) or 事假 (personal leave).
The act of returning after leave is 销假 (xiāojià) in formal contexts. Casual alternative for 'I'm taking the day off' is 我今天休息.
Note: Standard term in school and workplace contexts. The word is a verb-object compound (请 'request' + 假 'leave'), so it splits — you say 请一天假 'take one day off,' not 请假一天.
Character by character
Memory hook: 请 (request) + 假 (leave) — literally 'request leave.'
我今天想请一天假。
Wǒ jīntiān xiǎng qǐng yì tiān jià.
I'd like to take one day off today.
neutral
他生病了，跟老师请了三天假。
Tā shēngbìng le, gēn lǎoshī qǐng le sān tiān jià.
He got sick and asked the teacher for three days off.
neutral
你要请假，得先告诉经理。
Nǐ yào qǐngjià, děi xiān gàosu jīnglǐ.
If you want to take leave, you need to tell the manager first.
neutral
我没请假就走了，老板很生气。
Wǒ méi qǐngjià jiù zǒu le, lǎobǎn hěn shēngqì.
I left without asking for leave, and the boss was angry.
spoken
休假 is the state of being on vacation / on leave — what you DO during the time off. 请假 is the act of REQUESTING the leave. You 请假 first, then 休假.
放假 is when an institution (school, company) officially gives time off (holidays, school break). 请假 is when an individual asks for personal time off. 学校放假 = school is on break; 我请假 = I'm taking leave.
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