实话 (shí huà) — truth; true words | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

实话 means 'the truth' in a spoken, personal sense — what someone says honestly, often in 说实话. 事实 is an objective fact; 真相 is the revealed truth, often hidden.

noun

truthtrue words

Examples

实话。
Wǒ gēn nǐ shuō de dōu shì shí huà.
Everything I said to you is the truth.
。
shí huà Shí shuō shì zuì hǎo de gōu tōng fāng shì.
Speaking frankly is the best way to communicate.
。
Tā zhè ge rén cóng lái bù shuō shí huà.
He never tells the truth.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

实shíreal

话huàwords

实 means real and 话 means words, so real words give the sense of truth.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 實; 实 is its simplified writing.

宀宀miánroof
周周zhōucarved jade
貝貝bèishellfish; cowrie

The traditional form 實 has 宀 'roof' above 周 'carved jade' and 貝 'cowrie'; the simplified 实 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical pieces.

Open 实 →

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 話; 话 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

言言yánword

Sound part声符shēngfú

𠯑

𠯑𠯑話huà

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In the traditional form 話, 言 relates to words and 𠯑 gives the sound; the simplified 话 is a shorthand, so its right side is not that sound part.

Open 话 →

Appears in