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真心话 (zhēn xīn huà) — sincere words; words from the heart; the truth (as in speaking frankly)

Definition

A set phrase for 'sincere words / the truth' — especially the candid things people say in games, confessions, or honest moments, as opposed to polite small talk.

noun
sincere wordswords from the heartthe truth (as in speaking frankly)

Examples

  • 真心话。
    Tā men liǎ zài yì qǐ shuō le hěn duō zhēn xīn huà.
    The two of them said a lot of sincere words to each other.
  • ，真心话。
    Zài yóu xì lǐ, měi gè rén dōu yào shuō yí jù zhēn xīn huà.
    In the game, everyone has to say a truthful sentence.
  • 真心话。
    Tā de zhēn xīn huà ràng wǒ fēi cháng gǎn dòng.
    Her sincere words moved me deeply.

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.

真心true heart
真zhēntrue心xīnheart
偏正Modifier + head
话huàwords

真心 true heart and 话 words make words spoken from the heart.

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
貝貝bèicowrie; shell
Sound part声符shēngfú
𠂈
𠂈𠂈真zhēn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

真 pairs 貝 (cowrie shell, used for the meaning) with 𠂈, which gave the sound and originally drew a headlong fall.

Open 真 →

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

The shape of 心 comes from a drawing of a heart, now highly stylized.

Open 心 →

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
Communication & Speech

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