Meaning of 认真
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- conscientious
- earnest
- serious
- to take seriously
- to take to heart
How to use 认真
认真 describes people who work or study carefully, and it often comes before a verb as 认真地 to mean doing something seriously. It can also mean to take something to heart, as in 别太认真 (bié tài rènzhēn), don't take it too seriously. Example: 他学习很认真。(Tā xuéxí hěn rènzhēn.) He studies very hard.
认 (rèn) means to recognize or acknowledge, and 真 (zhēn) means real or true. If you treat something as truly real, you take it seriously, so 认真 means earnest or conscientious.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 认真 with 严重 (yánzhòng). 认真 means a person is earnest, while 严重 means a problem is serious or severe, so 问题很严重 is correct and 问题很认真 is not. Also keep the tones straight: rèn is fourth tone and zhēn is first tone.
认真 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.
认 rèn · to recognize · 4 strokes
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真 zhēn · really · 10 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 认真.
| 真的 | zhēn de | really; truly; indeed; real; true; genuine |
| 认识 | rènshi | to know; to recognize |
| 认为 | rènwéi | to believe; to think; to consider; to feel |
| 真正 | zhēnzhèng | genuine; real; true; really; indeed |
| 真实 | zhēnshí | true; real |
| 认得 | rènde | to recognize; to remember sth (or sb) on seeing it |
| 否认 | fǒurèn | to declare to be untrue; to deny |
| 认出 | rènchū | recognition; to recognize |
| 认可 | rènkě | to approve; approval |
| 承认 | chéngrèn | to admit; to concede |
| 确认 | quèrèn | to confirm; to verify |
| 天真 | tiānzhēn | naive; innocent |
Questions about 认真
What does 认真 mean?
认真 (rènzhēn) means "conscientious; earnest" and is used as a adjective.
How do you write 认真?
认真 is made of 2 characters: 认 (4 strokes), 真 (10 strokes). That is 14 strokes in total.
Is 认真 an HSK word?
Yes. 认真 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 认真 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 认真 is written 認真.
How do you say 'Are you serious?' in Chinese?
You can say 你是认真的吗？(Nǐ shì rènzhēn de ma?) when asking if someone means what they said. Another common way is 真的吗？(Zhēn de ma?), meaning 'Really?'
What is the difference between 认真 and 努力?
认真 is about care and attention, doing something properly and not carelessly. 努力 (nǔlì) is about effort and working hard. A student can be both: 他很认真，也很努力。