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HSK 3

请假

to request leave; to ask for time off

verbneutral
请
qǐng3rd tone
假
jià4th tone

HSK level

1
2
3
4
5
6
Pinyin
qǐngjià
Part of speech
verb
Level
HSK 3
Strokes
21
Register
neutral

Stroke order for 请假

请假 is written with 21 strokes (请: 10, 假: 11). The animation replays automatically.

What does 请假 mean?

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

请qǐngto request; please
+
假jiàleave; vacation (note: same character read jiǎ means 'fake')
=
请假

Memory hook: 请 (request) + 假 (leave) — literally 'request leave.'

Example sentences

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

Common phrases with 请假

请一天假qǐng yì tiān jiàto take one day off
请病假qǐng bìngjiàto take sick leave
请事假qǐng shìjiàto take personal leave
跟老师请假gēn lǎoshī qǐngjiàto ask the teacher for leave
请假条qǐngjià tiáoleave request slip

Synonyms

休假xiūjià

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fàngjià

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.

Don't confuse 请假 with

假jiǎ

Same character but read jiǎ (third tone) means 'fake / false' (假的 'fake'). In 请假 it's read jià (fourth tone) meaning 'leave / vacation.' Tone matters.

请客qǐngkè

Also starts with 请 but means 'to treat someone (to a meal); to pay for guests.' Same verb 'request / invite,' different object.

FAQ

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