Meaning of 天真
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- naive
- innocent
- artless
How to use 天真
天真 describes children as innocent and sweet, but for adults it often means naive in a slightly critical way. Example: 你太天真了，他不会还钱的。(Nǐ tài tiānzhēn le, tā bú huì huán qián de.) You are too naive, he won't pay the money back.
天 (tiān) means sky or nature, and 真 (zhēn) means true or real. Someone who is 天真 is still true to how nature made them, without the tricks adults learn.
Common mistake: Learners often use 天真 as pure praise for an adult, but 你很天真 can sound like you are calling someone gullible. Also do not mix it up with 认真 (rènzhēn), which means serious or earnest, not innocent.
天真 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
天 tiān · day · 4 strokes
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真 zhēn · really · 10 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 天真.
| 真的 | zhēn de | really; truly; indeed; real; true; genuine |
| 今天 | jīntiān | today; the present time; now |
| 明天 | míngtiān | tomorrow |
| 昨天 | zuótiān | yesterday |
| 认真 | rènzhēn | conscientious; earnest |
| 天气 | tiānqì | weather |
| 白天 | báitiān | daytime; during the day |
| 星期天 | xīngqītiān | Sunday |
| 后天 | hòutiān | the day after tomorrow; life after birth (the period in which one develops through experie |
| 半天 | bàntiān | half of the day; a long time |
| 前天 | qiántiān | the day before yesterday |
| 真正 | zhēnzhèng | genuine; real; true; really; indeed |
Questions about 天真
What does 天真 mean?
天真 (tiānzhēn) means "naive; innocent" and is used as a adjective.
How do you write 天真?
天真 is made of 2 characters: 天 (4 strokes), 真 (10 strokes). That is 14 strokes in total.
Is 天真 an HSK word?
Yes. 天真 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 天真 and 单纯?
单纯 (dānchún) means simple or pure-hearted and is usually a softer, more positive word. 天真 leans more toward naive, especially when said about adults.
How do I say someone has a childlike innocence in a positive way?
You can say 天真可爱 (tiānzhēn kě'ài), innocent and cute, which is common for children. For adults, 纯真 (chúnzhēn) also sounds warmer and more complimentary.