正经八百 (zhèng jīng bā bǎi) — (idiom) in all seriousness; genuinely; truly

Definition

A colloquial idiom meaning 'in all seriousness, for real' — used in speech to insist something is genuine, not a joke. As a reduplicated form of 正经, it sounds more emphatic and everyday than plain 正经.

idiom
in all seriousnessgenuinelytruly

Examples

  • ，正经八百。
    Tā kàn qǐ lái xī pí xiào liǎn de, kě yì tán dào gōng zuò jiù zhèng jīng bā bǎi de le.
    He looks all smiles, but when it comes to work he's dead serious.
  • 正经八百，。
    Wǒ shì zhèng jīng bā bǎi dì qǐng jiào nín zhè ge wèn tí, bú shì kāi wán xiào.
    I am sincerely asking you this question — I'm not joking.
  • ，正经八百。
    Bié xiào, rén jiā zhèng jīng bā bǎi dì zài gēn nǐ dào qiàn ne.
    Don't laugh — they are genuinely apologizing to you.

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 →

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 →

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
一一yī
Sound part声符shēngfú
白
白bái百bǎi
Same sound today

百 combines 一, which carries the number meaning, with 白, which provides the sound.

Open 百 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.