真话 (zhēn huà) — truth; true words (as opposed to lies)

Definition

noun

truthtrue words (as opposed to lies)

真话，。
Tā shuō de dōu shì zhēn huà, méi yǒu yí jù jiǎ huà.
Everything he said is the truth, not a single lie.
真话。
Wǒ xī wàng nǐ néng gēn wǒ shuō zhēn huà.
I hope you can tell me the truth.
，真话。
Zài zhè zhǒng chǎng hé xià, shuō zhēn huà bìng bù róng yì.
In this kind of situation, telling the truth isn't easy.

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 (true) and 话 (words) make true words, hence truth.

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.

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

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.

Appears in