Meaning of 说实话
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to speak the truth
- truth to tell
- frankly
How to use 说实话
说实话 is most often used at the start of a sentence, like "to be honest" or "frankly" in English, to signal an honest opinion that may be a little blunt. Example: 说实话，我不太喜欢这部电影。(Shuō shíhuà, wǒ bú tài xǐhuan zhè bù diànyǐng.) To be honest, I don't really like this movie.
Break it into 说 (shuō, to speak) + 实 (shí, real, solid) + 话 (huà, words). You are speaking real words, so you are telling the truth.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes confuse it with 实在 (shízài, really), which is an adverb inside the sentence, while 说实话 usually opens the sentence and is followed by a comma. Also keep 实 in the second tone, shí, not the fourth-tone shì of 是 or 事.
说实话 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.
说 shuō · to speak · 9 strokes
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实 shí · real · 8 strokes
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话 huà · dialect · 8 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 说实话.
| 电话 | diànhuà | telephone; phone call |
| 说话 | shuōhuà | to speak; to say |
| 打电话 | dǎ diànhuà | to make a telephone call |
| 的话 | dehuà | if (coming after a conditional clause) |
| 听说 | tīngshuō | to hear (sth said); one hears (that) |
| 实在 | shízài | really; actually |
| 说明 | shuōmíng | to explain; to illustrate |
| 讲话 | jiǎnghuà | a speech; to speak |
| 实现 | shíxiàn | to achieve; to implement; to realize; to bring about |
| 笑话 | xiàohua | joke; jest; to laugh at; to mock |
| 小说 | xiǎoshuō | novel; fiction |
| 对话 | duìhuà | to talk (with sb); dialogue; conversation |
Questions about 说实话
What does 说实话 mean?
说实话 (shuō shíhuà) means "to speak the truth; truth to tell".
How do you write 说实话?
说实话 is made of 3 characters: 说 (9 strokes), 实 (8 strokes), 话 (8 strokes). That is 25 strokes in total.
Is 说实话 an HSK word?
Yes. 说实话 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 说实话 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 说实话 is written 說實話.
Can 说实话 be used as a regular verb phrase, not just as an opener?
Yes. It can mean "to tell the truth" literally, as in 你要说实话 (nǐ yào shuō shíhuà), "you need to tell the truth." The opposite is 说假话 (shuō jiǎhuà) or 说谎 (shuōhuǎng), to lie.
Is 说实话 the same as 老实说 or 说真的?
They are very close. 老实说 (lǎoshi shuō) means "honestly speaking" and works the same way as an opener, while 说真的 (shuō zhēn de) is more casual and often means "seriously" or "no joke."