正儿八经 (zhèng r bā jīng) — serious; earnest; genuine; real

Definition

A colloquial idiom meaning 'proper, serious, for real' — often used as 副 or in 的 after a noun to stress genuineness. Carries an everyday, slightly emphatic tone.

verb
seriousearnestgenuinereal

Examples

  • 正儿八经，。
    Tā kàn qǐ lái hěn zhèng r bā jīng de yàng zi, bú xiàng zài kāi wán xiào.
    He looks very serious, not like he's joking.
  • 正儿八经，。
    Nǐ shuō huà yào zhèng r bā jīng de, bié zǒng shì xī xī hā hā.
    You should speak earnestly, don't always act silly.
  • 正儿八经，。
    Tā jué de zhè shì bú zhèng r bā jīng, gēn běn méi fàng zài xīn shàng.
    He thinks this matter isn't serious and didn't take it to heart at all.

Origin

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
止止zhǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
丁
丁dīng正zhèng
Same sound today

正 pairs 止 with 丁; 止 marks the sense and 丁 gives the sound.

Open 正 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape 儿 is a simple drawing of a standing person, used as an alternate form of the character for person.

Open 儿 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

八 shows two bent lines, indicating the original meaning 'to divide'; it was later used for 'eight' because the words sounded alike.

Open 八 →

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 經; 经 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糹Written in full as糸mìsilk; thread
Sound part声符shēngfú
巠
巠jīng經jīng
Same sound today

The traditional form 經 combines 糹 (silk; thread) with 巠, which gives the sound.

Open 经 →

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