冒充

màochōng

verb HSK 7 #9,827

Meanings

1 to pose as; to impersonate
2 to pass oneself off as

Characters

to pretend; to risk

to fill; to act as

Literally 'to falsely fill a role' — pretending to be someone you're not.

Examples

他冒充警察骗了很多人。

Tā màochōng jǐngchá piàn le hěn duō rén.

He impersonated a police officer and deceived many people.

有人冒充客服打电话诈骗。

Yǒu rén màochōng kèfú dǎ diànhuà zhàpiàn.

Someone impersonated customer service to make scam calls.

Tips

usage

冒充 is always negative — it implies deception. Common scam patterns in China include 冒充公安 (impersonating police), 冒充银行 (impersonating banks), and 冒充领导 (impersonating a boss). The government regularly warns about these.

Stroke Order

冒 mào

充 chōng