正经八百 (zhèng jīng bā bǎi) — (idiom) in all seriousness; genuinely; truly
Definition
A colloquial idiom meaning 'in all seriousness, for real' — used in speech to insist something is genuine, not a joke. As a reduplicated form of 正经, it sounds more emphatic and everyday than plain 正经.
idiom
in all seriousnessgenuinelytruly
Examples
- ，正经八百。Tā kàn qǐ lái xī pí xiào liǎn de, kě yì tán dào gōng zuò jiù zhèng jīng bā bǎi de le.He looks all smiles, but when it comes to work he's dead serious.
- 正经八百，。Wǒ shì zhèng jīng bā bǎi dì qǐng jiào nín zhè ge wèn tí, bú shì kāi wán xiào.I am sincerely asking you this question — I'm not joking.
- ，正经八百。Bié xiào, rén jiā zhèng jīng bā bǎi dì zài gēn nǐ dào qiàn ne.Don't laugh — they are genuinely apologizing to you.
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