说实话 (shuì) — to tell the truth, to speak honestly; frankly, to be honest (used as a sentence adverb to introduce a frank statement)
Definition
说实话 is a fixed phrase used as a sentence adverb meaning 'to be honest / frankly' — placed at the start of a clause to introduce a candid opinion. It is more idiomatic than a literal verb phrase like 说真话.
verb
to tell the truthto speak honestlyfranklyto be honest (used as a sentence adverb to introduce a frank statement)
Examples
- 说实话。Nǐ bì xū shuì.You must tell the truth.
- 说实话，。shuì, Wǒ bù xǐ huan zhè ge zhǔ yì.To be honest, I don't like this idea.
- 说实话，。shuì, Nǐ zuò dé hěn hǎo.Frankly, you did a good job.
Appears in
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