Meaning
real; true; genuine
Chinese: 真实、确实。
Hear the Four Tones
The same syllable “zhen” becomes a different word in each tone. 真 is the 1st tone. Tap any tone to hear a native voice and see its pitch shape.
Stroke Order
Tap Animate to watch the strokes in order, or Practice to trace it yourself.
Common Words
- 真的zhēn dereally; truly; indeed; real
- 认真rèn zhēnconscientious; earnest; serious; to take seriously
- 真正zhēn zhènggenuine; real; true; really
- 真实zhēn shítrue; real
- 天真tiān zhēnnaive; innocent; artless
Example Sentence
这个消息是真的吗？Zhè ge xiāo xi shì zhēn de ma?Is this news true?
这个Zhè ge(pronoun) this消息xiāo xi(piece of) news是shìis真的zhēn dereally吗ma(coll.) what?？
Go deeper
Where this character comes from
An old graph (a person/ladle over 目 and a base) that came to mean ‘true, real, genuine, authentic; really, truly; clear (of an image)’ (真的, 认真, 真理).
A way to remember it
‘True / real / really’: 真的 (really), 认真 (earnest).
Easy to confuse with
- 直‘Straight’: a similar 十+目 top, but built on a flat base, not 真's legs.