Meaning of 真的
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- really; truly; indeed
- real; true; genuine
- (math.) proper
How to use 真的
真的 works as an adverb meaning "really" before verbs and adjectives, and also as a short reply meaning "Really?" or "It's true." It can describe things too, as in 真的花 (real flowers). Example: 我真的很累。 (Wǒ zhēn de hěn lèi.) I'm really tired.
真 (zhēn) means true or real, and 的 (de) turns it into a describing word. Think of 真的 as stamping a label on something that says "the true one."
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 真的 with 真正 (zhēnzhèng). 真正 usually goes before a noun to mean "genuine" (真正的朋友), while 真的 is the everyday way to say "really" in speech. Also keep 的 in the neutral tone (de), not dì as in 目的 (mùdì).
真的 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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的 de · of · 8 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 真的.
| 别的 | biéde | else; other |
| 认真 | rènzhēn | conscientious; earnest |
| 有的 | yǒude | (there are) some (who are...); some (exist) |
| 的话 | dehuà | if (coming after a conditional clause) |
| 真正 | zhēnzhèng | genuine; real; true; really; indeed |
| 目的 | mùdì | purpose; aim; goal; target; objective |
| 真实 | zhēnshí | true; real |
| 有的是 | yǒudeshì | have plenty of; there's no lack of |
| 的确 | díquè | really; indeed |
| 似的 | shìde | seems as if; rather like |
| 天真 | tiānzhēn | naive; innocent |
| 真相 | zhēnxiàng | the truth about sth; the actual facts |
Questions about 真的
What does 真的 mean?
真的 (zhēn de) means "really; truly; indeed; real; true; genuine".
How do you write 真的?
真的 is made of 2 characters: 真 (10 strokes), 的 (8 strokes). That is 18 strokes in total.
Is 真的 an HSK word?
Yes. 真的 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How do I say "Really?" in Chinese?
Just say 真的？ (Zhēn de?) with a rising intonation. To answer "Yes, really," say 真的。 (Zhēn de.) with a falling intonation.
What is the difference between 真 and 真的 before an adjective?
真 alone before an adjective is often exclamatory, as in 真好 (zhēn hǎo) "so good." 真的 stresses that something is truly the case, as in 真的很好 "it really is good." With 真的, people usually add 很 before the adjective.