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真诚 (zhēn chéng) — sincere, genuine

Definition

真诚 describes a sincere, wholehearted person or attitude. Colloquial and common; 诚实 focuses more on 'honest' (not lying), while 诚挚 and 恳切 are more formal/written.

adjective
sinceregenuine

Examples

  • 真诚。
    Wǒ jué de tā shì gè hěn zhēn chéng de rén.
    I think she is a very sincere person.
  • 真诚。
    Tā shuō de huà fēi cháng zhēn chéng.
    What he said is extremely genuine.
  • 真诚。
    zhēn chéng De yǒu yì jiàn lì zài xìn rèn zhī shàng.
    Sincere friendship is built on trust.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

真zhēntrue
诚chéngsincere

真诚 combines 真 as true and 诚 as sincere to mean honest and genuine.

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
貝貝bèicowrie; shell
Sound part声符shēngfú
𠂈
𠂈𠂈真zhēn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

真 pairs 貝 (cowrie shell, used for the meaning) with 𠂈, which gave the sound and originally drew a headlong fall.

Open 真 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 誠; 诚 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánspeech
Sound part声符shēngfú
成
成chéng誠chéng
Same sound today

In 誠, 言 is the speech part and 成 gives the sound; this is about the traditional form 誠, not the simplified 诚.

Open 诚 →
Appears in
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