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正经 (zhèng jing) — proper, decent, honorable (of a person's character or behavior); serious, earnest (of an attitude or manner)

Definition

正经 describes a person’s character or behavior as proper and decent (e.g. won't lie), or an attitude as serious and earnest — more about moral propriety than 认真 (conscientious in effort) or 正式 (formal in setting).

adjective
properdecenthonorable (of a person's character or behavior)seriousearnest (of an attitude or manner)

Examples

  • 正经，。
    Zhè ge rén hěn zhèng jing, bú huì shuō huǎng.
    This person is very proper; they wouldn't lie.
  • 正经，。
    Tā kàn qǐ lái bú zhèng jing, dà jiā dōu bú xìn rèn tā.
    He looks shady, and no one trusts him.
  • 。
    Wǒ men xiān tán zhèng jing shì ba.
    Let's talk about serious matters first.

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.

正zhèngproper
经jīngstandard

正 means proper and 经 suggests standards, so 正经 describes behavior that is serious and in line with standards.

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 →

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 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Personality & Traits

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