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认真 (rèn zhēn) — serious, earnest, conscientious

Definition

认真 (rènzhēn) describes a person's attitude toward a task — careful, diligent, focused on doing things well. 严肃 is more about mood or manner (solemn, stern); 重视 is a verb meaning to 'attach importance to' someone or something.

adjective
seriousearnestconscientious

Examples

  • 认真。
    Tā xué xí hěn rèn zhēn.
    He studies very seriously.
  • 认真。
    Nǐ yào rèn zhēn zuò zuò yè.
    You need to do your homework carefully.
  • 认真。
    Tā shì yí gè rèn zhēn de xué shēng.
    She is a conscientious student.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

认rènacknowledge
真zhēntruth

To acknowledge the 真, so one treats 认真 as something real and serious rather than casual.

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
讠Written in full as言yánspeech
Sound part声符shēngfú
人
人rén认rèn
Same sound today

The left part 讠 shows speech, and the right part 人 gives the sound.

Open 认 →

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 →

Grammar

Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 3HSK 2.0 Level 3Personality & Traits2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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