诚 (chéng) — (bound form) honest, sincere (as in 诚实, 真诚); (bound form) really, indeed (as in 诚然)
Definition
诚 (chéng) is a bound morpheme meaning 'sincere / genuine'. It rarely stands alone and typically combines with 实 or 恳 (诚实, 诚恳) for people, or with 然 as a literary adverb meaning 'indeed'.
bound form
honestsincere (as in 诚实, 真诚)reallyindeed (as in 诚然)
Easily confused
- 城chénglook-alikecity; town
- 成chéngsound-alike(classifier) tenth, ten percent (used after a number 1–9)
- 诫jièlook-alike(bound form) to warn, to admonish
- 乘chéngsound-aliketo ride (a vehicle), to mount
- 乘chéngsound-aliketo ride; to travel by; to take (a vehicle)
- 呈chéngsound-aliketo submit (to a superior); to formally present
Examples
- ，。Tā shì yí gè chéng shí de rén, cóng bù shuō huǎng.She is an honest person who never lies.
- 。Wǒ chéng kěn dì gǎn xiè nǐ de bāng zhù.I sincerely thank you for your help.
- ，。chéng Rán, tā de shuō fǎ shì yǒu dào lǐ de.Indeed, his argument makes sense.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost 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 誠; 诚 is its simplified writing.
In 誠, 言 is the speech part and 成 gives the sound; this is about the traditional form 誠, not the simplified 诚.
Appears in
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