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坦诚 (tǎn chéng) — candid, frank

Definition

坦誠 describes a person or their manner as honest and open about feelings and opinions. Stronger and more about inner sincerity than 坦率 (frank in speech) or 干脆 (just doing it directly).

adjective
candidfrank

Examples

  • 坦诚，。
    Tā shuō huà hěn tǎn chéng, cóng bù yǐn mán.
    He speaks very frankly and never hides anything.
  • 坦诚。
    Wǒ men xū yào yí cì tǎn chéng de jiāo liú.
    We need a frank exchange of views.
  • 坦诚。
    Tā de tǎn chéng tài dù yíng dé le dà jiā de xìn rèn.
    Her candid attitude won everyone's 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.

坦tǎnopen
诚chéngsincere

坦 means open and 诚 means sincere, so together they describe a frank and honest manner.

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
土土tǔearth
Sound part声符shēngfú
旦
旦dàn坦tǎn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

坦 is made from 土 (earth) plus 旦, which provides the sound. The earth part shows the sense is about ground.

Open 坦 →

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
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Personality & Traits

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