僞

Denotes falsehood or pretense, the act of imitating reality without sincerity or truth.

It can describe both deceptive behavior (“to pretend, to feign”) and inauthentic things (“fake, counterfeit, artificial”).

Phono-semantic compound composed of:

亻(人) — semantic component, meaning “person,” representing human action or behavior.

爲 (하/할 위) — phonetic component, providing the sound wi and implying “to act,” “to perform,” or “to do.”

Together they depict “a person acting (為) falsely or unnaturally,” hence the sense of pretending, feigning, or falsifying human behavior.

僞善 (위선) — hypocrisy; pretending to be virtuous

僞裝 (위장) — disguise; camouflage

僞造 (위조) — forgery; falsification

僞言 (위언) — false statement; deceitful speech

僞君子 (위군자) — hypocrite; false gentleman

僞造幣 (위조폐) — counterfeit money

僞裝信仰 (위장신앙) — feigned belief

僞作 (위작) — fake work (art or writing)

眞僞 (진위) — truth and falsehood; authenticity

虛僞 (허위) — false; untrue; deceitful

In early Confucian philosophy, 僞 had a broader and subtler meaning than simply “false.”

It referred to artifice — any deliberate, man-made construction, whether moral, political, or aesthetic.

Mencius (孟子) contrasted 自然 (the natural) with 僞 (the artificial), warning that excessive human manipulation leads away from the Dao (道):

「盡心知性，則知天矣；棄自然而從僞，失其本矣。」

“He who knows his nature knows Heaven; but one who abandons the natural and follows artifice loses his root.”

In contrast, Xunzi (荀子) argued that 僞 — human artifice and cultivation — is precisely what makes civilization possible:

「人之性惡，其善者僞也。」

“Human nature is evil; goodness is the result of conscious effort (僞).”

Thus, the character 僞 embodies an ancient philosophical tension —

between truth and imitation, nature and artifice, sincerity and deceit.

Over time, the moral nuance narrowed: in later Chinese, 僞 came to mean “false” or “counterfeit” in the ethical and practical sense,

while the neutral meaning of “artificial creation” faded.

僞 symbolizes the distortion of human authenticity — when action (為) is performed without sincerity (誠).

The “person” radical (亻) reminds us that falsehood arises from human intention, not nature itself.

It thus stands opposite to 眞 (truth) and 誠 (sincerity) — the virtues of integrity and harmony.

「人之僞，不由天成，而由心造。」

“Human falsehood is not born of Heaven, but fashioned by the mind.”

In this sense, 僞 is not merely about lying, but about acting without inner truth — the disunity between what is shown and what is.

僞 warns of the fragility of sincerity.

It teaches that authenticity — in thought, word, and action — is the foundation of trust and virtue.

「誠者，天之道；僞者，人之病。」

“Sincerity is the Way of Heaven; falseness is the sickness of man.”

Thus, 僞 stands as a character of falsehood, deception, and moral caution — a reminder that strength of virtue lies not in outward show, but in the quiet integrity of a heart that is true.