Meaning of 真
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- really
- truly
- indeed
- real
- true
- genuine
How to use 真
As an adverb, 真 goes before adjectives to mean "really" or "so" and adds strong feeling. As an adjective it means "real" or "genuine," often in words like 真正 (zhēnzhèng) and 真实 (zhēnshí). Example: 今天真冷。(Jīntiān zhēn lěng.) It is really cold today.
Picture 真 (zhēn) as a tall stack with 目 (eye) in the middle: you look closely with your own eyes to see what is really true. If you saw it yourself, it is real.
Common mistake: Learners often write 你真是好人 correctly but then say 他是真高 instead of 他真高 (tā zhēn gāo); 真 before an adjective does not need 是. Also, the middle part is 目 with three inner strokes, not 日 with one.
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.
真 zhēn · really · 10 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 真.
| 真的 | zhēn de | really; truly; indeed; real; true; genuine |
| 认真 | rènzhēn | conscientious; earnest |
| 真正 | zhēnzhèng | genuine; real; true; really; indeed |
| 真实 | zhēnshí | true; real |
| 天真 | tiānzhēn | naive; innocent |
| 真相 | zhēnxiàng | the truth about sth; the actual facts |
| 真理 | zhēnlǐ | truth |
| 真诚 | zhēnchéng | sincere; genuine; true |
| 传真 | chuánzhēn | to fax; a fax |
| 说真的 | shuō zhēnde | to tell the truth; honestly |
| 真心 | zhēnxīn | wholeheartedness; sincerity |
| 当真 | dàngzhēn | to take seriously; serious |
Questions about 真
What does 真 mean?
真 (zhēn) means "really; truly" and is used as a adverb and adjective.
How do you write 真?
真 is made of 1 character: 真 (10 strokes). That is 10 strokes in total.
Is 真 an HSK word?
Yes. 真 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 真 and 真的?
Before an adjective both mean "really," but 真的 sounds more emphatic and can stand alone as a reply, as in 真的？(Zhēn de?) Really? Use 真的 to say something is real, as in 这是真的 (zhè shì zhēn de), it is true.
Can I use 真 in a statement like 很 to describe someone?
Yes, but 真 is exclamatory, so it fits direct reactions like 你真聪明 (nǐ zhēn cōngming), you are so smart. It sounds odd inside a neutral description or a 的 phrase, where 很 is better, as in 一个很高的人, not 一个真高的人.