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耿直 (gěng zhí) — honest, frank, candid (of a person or one's words)

Definition

耿直 is 'frank and upright' — describes a person's character, not their speech style. Stronger and more principled than 坦率 or 坦诚, which focus mainly on how someone talks.

adjective
honestfrankcandid (of a person or one's words)

Examples

  • 耿直，。
    Tā zhè ge rén hěn gěng zhí, xīn lǐ xiǎng shén me jiù shuō shén me.
    He is a very candid person; he says whatever he thinks.
  • 耿直，。
    Dà jiā gèng yuàn yì hé gěng zhí de rén gòng shì, yīn wèi bù xū yào cāi cè duì fāng de xīn si.
    People prefer to work with honest people because they don't need to guess what the other person is thinking.
  • 耿直，。
    gěng zhí De rén suī rán róng yì dé zuì rén, dàn yě néng yíng dé zhēn zhèng de zūn zhòng.
    Although straightforward people easily offend others, they can also win genuine respect.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

耿gěngupright
直zhífrank

耿 and 直 both convey upright, frank qualities, together describing someone candid.

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
耳耳ěr
Sound part声符shēngfú
烓
烓wēi耿gěng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

耿 pairs 耳, the meaning part, with a shortened 烓, the sound part.

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The earliest form of 直 pairs 目, an eye, with an unclear stroke 丨.

Open 直 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

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