肯定 meaning in English
to be certain; to be positive; assuredly; definitely
Meaning of 肯定
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to be certain; to be positive
- assuredly; definitely
- to give recognition; to affirm
- affirmative (answer)
How to use 肯定
As an adverb it means definitely, usually placed before the verb, and as a verb it means to affirm or give recognition to someone's work. Example: 他肯定会来。(Tā kěndìng huì lái.) He will definitely come.
肯 (kěn) means to be willing to say yes, and 定 (dìng) means fixed or settled. When your yes is fixed, you are 肯定 (kěndìng), sure and positive.
Common mistake: Learners often swap 肯定 and 一定 in commands. You can say 你一定要来 (you must come), but 肯定 is about the speaker's certainty, not an order, so 你肯定要来 sounds like a guess that you will come.
肯定 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.
肯 kěn · to agree · 8 strokes
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定 dìng · to fix · 8 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 肯定.
| 一定 | yīdìng | surely; certainly; definitely; fixed; settled |
| 不一定 | bùyīdìng | not necessarily; maybe |
| 决定 | juédìng | to decide; to determine; to make up one's mind; decision (CL:個|个[ge4],項|项[xiang4]) |
| 确定 | quèdìng | definite; certain |
| 规定 | guīdìng | to stipulate; to specify; to prescribe; to fix (a price); to set (a quota); regulations; r |
| 制定 | zhìdìng | to draw up; to formulate |
| 否定 | fǒudìng | to negate; to deny |
| 定期 | dìngqī | at set dates; at regular intervals |
| 说不定 | shuōbudìng | can't say for sure; maybe |
| 稳定 | wěndìng | steady; stable |
| 固定 | gùdìng | to fix; to fasten |
| 特定 | tèdìng | special; specific; designated; particular |
Questions about 肯定
What does 肯定 mean?
肯定 (kěndìng) means "to be certain; to be positive; assuredly; definitely" and is used as a verb and adjective.
How do you write 肯定?
肯定 is made of 2 characters: 肯 (8 strokes), 定 (8 strokes). That is 16 strokes in total.
Is 肯定 an HSK word?
Yes. 肯定 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How do I use 肯定 to praise someone?
Use it as a verb meaning to recognize or approve. For example, 老板肯定了他的工作 (Lǎobǎn kěndìng le tā de gōngzuò) means the boss recognized his work.
What is the difference between 肯定 and 确定?
确定 (quèdìng) stresses that something has been confirmed or decided, like 时间还没确定 (the time is not confirmed yet). 肯定 more often expresses a strong personal belief. In questions like 你确定吗 and 你肯定吗 they overlap, but 确定 sounds more about checking facts.