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正直 (zhèng zhí) — honest, upright, upstanding

Definition

正直 describes a person's moral character — honest and principled. Stronger than 诚实 (which is just 'truthful, not lying'), and broader in scope than 端正 (which focuses on proper behavior or handwriting).

adjective
honestuprightupstanding

Examples

  • 正直。
    Tā shì yí wèi zhèng zhí de fǎ guān.
    He is an upright judge.
  • 正直，。
    Zuò rén yào zhèng zhí, bù néng sā huǎng.
    One must be honest and not lie.
  • 正直。
    Tā de zhèng zhí xìng gé yíng dé le dà jiā de zūn zhòng.
    Her upright character won everyone's respect.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

正zhèngupright
直zhístraight

正 and 直 both mean upright, so 正直 describes an honest person.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
止止zhǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
丁
丁dīng正zhèng
Same sound today

正 pairs 止 with 丁; 止 marks the sense and 丁 gives the sound.

Open 正 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The earliest form of 直 pairs 目, an eye, with an unclear stroke 丨.

Open 直 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Personality & Traits

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.