真

Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word 真. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word 真, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say 真 in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word 真 you have here. The definition of the word 真 will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of真, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
See also: 眞, 具, and 直
真 U+771F, 真
CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-771F
← 眞
 		CJK Unified Ideographs 眠 →
真 U+2F946, 真
CJK COMPATIBILITY IDEOGRAPH-2F946
← 眞
 		CJK Compatibility Ideographs Supplement 真 →

真 U+2F947, 真
CJK COMPATIBILITY IDEOGRAPH-2F947
← 真
 		CJK Compatibility Ideographs Supplement 睊 →

Translingual

Stroke order
10 strokes
Traditional 真
Simplified 真
Japanese 真
Korean 眞

Alternative forms

In simplified and traditional Chinese, the 目 component is connected to the horizontal line below it (as seen in the Kangxi dictionary) whereas, in Japanese and Korean, 目 is separate from that line.

Han character

真 (Kangxi radical 109, 目+5, 10 strokes, cangjie input 十月一金 (JBMC), four-corner 40801, composition ⿱十具)

Usage notes

The Kangxi dictionary considers 真 as an unorthodox form (俗字) of 眞. However, the traditional Kangxi form 眞 with 匕 on top is rarely used nowadays. In modern times, 真 is considered the orthodox form in all regions except South Korea.

Derived characters

  • 眞 (Original form of 真)

Further reading

  • Kangxi Dictionary: page 805, character 1
  • Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 23236
  • Dae Jaweon: page 1221, character 1
  • Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 249, character 7
  • Unihan data for U+771F

Chinese

trad. 真/眞
simp. 真
2nd round simp. 𰅴
alternative forms
𡙊
𠤛
⿱𥃭大
⿱𥃰大
⿱𥃰六
𡙊
𠤛
⿱𥃭大
⿱𥃰大
⿱𥃰六
𰶵
𰶱
⿳上目大
⿳止目六
⿳十且八 1981
 

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 真
Western Zhou Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)
Bronze inscriptions Small seal script
Characters in the same phonetic series (真) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 
Old Chinese
寘 *tjels
䡩 *kʰriːn
黰 *ʔriːn, *ʔljinʔ
顛 *tiːn, *tʰiːns
滇 *tiːn, *tʰiːns, *diːn
齻 *tiːn
槙 *tiːn, *tjinʔ
瘨 *tiːn
傎 *tiːn
蹎 *tiːn
厧 *tiːn
巔 *tiːn
癲 *tiːn
瑱 *tʰiːns, *tins
填 *diːn, *diːns, *tin, *tins
窴 *diːn, *diːns
闐 *diːn, *diːns
磌 *diːn, *tjin
鷏 *diːn
嗔 *diːn, *tʰjin
搷 *diːn
鎮 *tin, *tins
縝 *tʰin, *ʔljinʔ, *tʰjin
真 *ʔljin
禛 *tjin
稹 *ʔljin, *ʔljinʔ
蒖 *tjin
鬒 *ʔljinʔ
瞋 *tʰjin
謓 *tʰjin
慎 *djins

Originally phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ʔljin) : phonetic 𠂈 (OC *l'ɯːnʔ) + 貝 (“cowry”); 𠂈 (a knife or dagger) was then a phonetic component. Often 丁 (OC *rteːŋ, *teːŋ) (a nail) was added as a second phonetic component at the bottom; originally, it appeared as a black dot. He Linyi posits it to be the original character for 珍 (OC *ʔl'ɯn, “rare; valuable”).

The sound component 𠂈 corrupted into 十 in the modern form, and into 匕 in the orthodox seal script form 眞. The bottom of the character in both forms derives from the components 貝 and 丁 corrupting into 目 and 丌.

Etymology

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan; cognate with Tibetan བདེན (bden, “true; truth”). Possibly connected with 貞 (OC *teŋ) (Schuessler, 2007).

Pronunciation

Note: zêng1 - Jieyang, Pontianak.
Rime
Character 真
Reading # 1/1
Initial (聲) 章 (23)
Final (韻) 眞 (43)
Tone (調) Level (Ø)
Openness (開合) Open
Division (等) III
Fanqie 側鄰切
Baxter tsyin
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang
Shangfang 		/t͡ɕiɪn/
Pan
Wuyun 		/t͡ɕin/
Shao
Rongfen 		/t͡ɕjen/
Edwin
Pulleyblank 		/cin/
Li
Rong 		/t͡ɕiĕn/
Wang
Li 		/t͡ɕĭĕn/
Bernhard
Karlgren 		/t͡ɕi̯ĕn/
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex 		zhēn
Expected
Cantonese
Reflex 		zan1
Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character 真
Reading # 1/1
Modern
Beijing
(Pinyin) 		zhēn
Middle
Chinese 		‹ tsyin ›
Old
Chinese 		/*ti/
English true, real

Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system:

* Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence;
* Square brackets "" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. * as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p;
* Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix;
* Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary;

* Period "." indicates syllable boundary.
Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character 真
Reading # 1/1
No. 17068
Phonetic
component 		眞
Rime
group 		眞
Rime
subdivision 		1
Corresponding
MC rime
Old
Chinese 		/*ʔljin/
Notes 原側鄰切依韻目改。金文象以匕充填鼎實爲填初文，
充實引指眞實不虛

Definitions

真

  1. true; genuine; real; actual
    那不是真鑽石項鏈，是假的！ [MSC, trad.]
    那不是真钻石项链，是假的！ [MSC, simp.]
    Nà bù shì zhēn zuànshí xiàngliàn, shì jiǎ de!
    That's not a real diamond necklace, it's just a fake!
    那些是真鑽石還是贗品？ [MSC, trad.]
    那些是真钻石还是赝品？ [MSC, simp.]
    Nàxiē shì zhēn zuànshí háishì yànpǐn?
    Are those real diamonds or only shams?
  2. clear; distinct; sharp
  3. really; truly; very; quite
    今天真熱。／今天真热。  ―  Jīntiān zhēn rè.  ―  It's so hot today.
    那些演員真了不起。 [MSC, trad.]
    那些演员真了不起。 [MSC, simp.]
    nà xiē yǎnyuán zhēn liǎobuqǐ
    Those actors are really great.
    真的嗎？／真的吗？  ―  Zhēn de ma?  ―  Really?
  4. portrait; image
  5. natural disposition
  6. (Chinese calligraphy) Short for 真書／真书 (zhēnshū, “regular script”).
  7. (～日) (telegraphy) the eleventh day of a month
  8. a surname
    真德秀  ―  Zhēn Déxiù  ―  Zhen Dexiu (a Song dynasty scholar)

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 很 (“very”)
Variety Location Words
Classical Chinese 甚, 孔
Formal (Written Standard Chinese) 很, 非常, 十分
Northeastern Mandarin Beijing 挺, 很, 倍兒, 怪
Taiwan 很, 好, 非常, 超, 蠻, 超級
Malaysia 很
Singapore 很, 蠻, 非常
Jilu Mandarin Tianjin 挺, 很, 傻, 老, 倍兒, 齁兒
Jinan 挺, 楞
Central Plains Mandarin Xi'an 很
Southwestern Mandarin Chengdu 很, 好
Chongqing 很
Wuhan 蠻, 很
Jianghuai Mandarin Yangzhou 蠻, 稀, 很
Hefei 很
Cantonese Guangzhou 好, 非常之
Hong Kong 好, 非常, 非常之, 超, 勁, 十分之, 無敵
Zhongshan (Shiqi) 好
Taishan 好, 十分之
Yangjiang 好
Kuala Lumpur (Guangfu) 好
Singapore (Guangfu) 好, 非常之, 非常
Gan Nanchang 蠻
Hakka Meixian 好, 刮, 已, 還, 異, 還 exclamation
Huidong (Daling) 好
Wuhua (Meilin) 好
Shaoguan (Qujiang) 頂
Lianshan (Xiaosanjiang) 好
Changting 野
Wuping (Pingyu) 已, 刮
Liancheng 樣
Ninghua 好
Ruijin 蠻
Shicheng 蠻
Shangyou (Shexi) 蠻
Miaoli (N. Sixian) 當, 已, 還
Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian) 蓋, 盡, 還
Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu) 當, 盡, 已, 還
Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu) 當, 已, 還
Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping) 當, 已, 還
Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an) 足, 真, 實在
Hong Kong 好
Sabah (Bao'an) 好
Kuching (Hepo) 很
Singapore (Dabu) 好
Jin Taiyuan 很, 挺
Northern Min Jian'ou 盡
Eastern Min Fuzhou 野, 真
Singapore (Fuqing) 真
Sitiawan (Gutian) 真
Southern Min Xiamen 真, 野, 誠, 有夠, 萬代, 死人, 非常, 真正, 設汰, 一
Xiamen (Tong'an) 真
Quanzhou 真, 野, 誠, 有夠, 萬代, 死人, 設汰
Jinjiang 野
Zhangzhou 盡, 蓋, 足, 足範, 有夠, 出奇, 極死, 見死, 死了了, 死人, 設汰, 設汰仔
Zhao'an 很, 真, 死絕, 好, 非常
Dongshan 真, 非常
Taipei 真, 誠
New Taipei (Sanxia) 真, 誠
Kaohsiung 有夠, 足, 真, 誠, 蓋
Yilan 有夠, 足, 誠, 盡
Changhua (Lukang) 真, 誠
Taichung 誠, 蓋, 足
Tainan 有夠, 足, 真, 誠, 蓋
Hsinchu 真, 誠
Kinmen 足, 誠
Penghu (Magong) 真, 誠
Penang (Hokkien) 真, 誠, 真正
Singapore (Hokkien) 真, 死爸, 真正, 誠, 足, 有夠
Manila (Hokkien) 野, 真, 萬代, 真誠, 誠, 有夠
Chaozhou 過, 好, 非常, 死爸
Shantou 過, 鐵, 好, 很, 死爸, 死絕
Shantou (Chenghai) 好, 死絕
Shantou (Chaoyang) 好, 非常
Jieyang 過, 好, 死爸, 死絕
Bangkok (Teochew) 好
Johor Bahru (Teochew) 好
Singapore (Teochew) 真, 死爸, 非常
Wenchang 極, 但顧, 真
Haikou 但顧
Qionghai 但顧, 真
Singapore (Hainanese) 但顧, 真
Zhongshan Min Zhongshan (Longdu, Shaxi) 好, 蠻
Wu Shanghai 蠻, 老, 邪氣, 老老, 瞎, 絕, 十分, 十二萬分, 非常, 非常之, 畢, 畢畢, 來得, 來得個, 煞, 交關, 十二分 rare, 窮 dated, 野 dated, 邪 dated
Suzhou 蠻, 窮
Hangzhou 蠻, 交關, 木佬佬, 冒
Ningbo 交關, 蠻, 堪, 𣍐好, 𣍐派, 甮派, 出格, 木牢牢 rare, 猛 rare
Zhoushan 交關, 蠻, 猛, 堪, 出格, 木牢牢 rare
Wenzhou 蠻, 蒙, 顯
Xiang Changsha 很, 蠻
Shuangfeng 蠻

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (真):
  • → Japanese: 真(しん) (shin)
  • → Korean: 진(眞) (jin)
  • → Vietnamese: chân (真)

Others:

Compounds

Further reading

Japanese

Shinjitai

真

Kyūjitai

眞

Kanji

真

(Third grade kyōiku kanji, shinjitai kanji, kyūjitai form 眞)

  1. truth
  2. reality
  3. sincerity
  4. naturalness
  5. regular script

Readings

Compounds

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
真
しん
Grade: 3
on'yomi
Alternative spelling
眞 (kyūjitai)

From Middle Chinese 真 (MC tsyin).

Pronunciation

Noun

真(しん) • (shin) 

  1. truth, reality
Derived terms
Idioms

Affix

真(しん) • (shin) 

  1. truth, reality, genuineness
  2. natural, pristine
  3. complete, wholly
  4. regular script (楷書, kaisho)
  5. (logic) a true statement
    Antonym: 偽 (gi)
Derived terms
Derived terms

Proper noun

真(しん) • (Shin) 

  1. a surname
  2. a male or female given name

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
真
ま
Grade: 3
kun'yomi
Alternative spelling
眞 (kyūjitai)
For pronunciation and definitions of 真 – see the following entry.
【ま】
真: the truth, reality, genuineness
真: real, genuine
真: pure, unadulterated
真: definitely, certainly, exactly, precisely, directly
真: true, real, main (appended to words for animals or plants to indicate the representative type)
真: (archaic, possibly obsolete, honorific) great, excellent
(This term, 真, is an alternative spelling of the above term.)

Etymology 3

Kanji in this term
真
まこと
Grade: 3
kun'yomi
Alternative spelling
眞 (kyūjitai)
For pronunciation and definitions of 真 – see the following entry.
【まこと】
truth; reality; fact; genuineness
sincerity; honesty; faithfulness
(dated) truly, really, absolutely, indeed
used for recalling information previously forgotten or sudden change of subjects: that's right
実, 真, 真琴: a unisex given name
Alternative spellings
眞, 実, 誠, 信, 真琴
(This term, 真, is an alternative spelling of the above term.)

Etymology 4

Kanji in this term
真
Grade: 3
nanori
Alternative spelling
眞 (kyūjitai)

From classical adjective 厚し (atsushi), modern 厚い (atsui, “thick, heavy; kind, warm”).

Proper noun

真(あつし) • (Atsushi) 

  1. a male given name

Etymology 5

Kanji in this term
真
Grade: 3
nanori
Alternative spelling
眞 (kyūjitai)

From classical adjective 正し (tadashi), modern 正しい (tadashii, “correct, right, true”).

Proper noun

真(ただし) or 真(たゞし) • (Tadashi) 

  1. a male given name

Etymology 6

Kanji in this term
真
Grade: 3
nanori
Alternative spelling
眞 (kyūjitai)

From classical adjective 正し (masashi, “accurate, authentic, correct”).

Proper noun

真(まさし) • (Masashi) 

  1. a male given name

References

  1. ^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  2. ^ NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN
  3. ^ Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

Korean

Hanja

Korean Wikisource has texts containing the hanja:

Wikisource

真 (eumhun 참 진 (cham jin))

  1. Alternative form of 眞

References

  • Zonmal.com Hanja Dictionary (존말닷컴 한자사전／漢字辭典) (2002-2005).

Vietnamese

Han character

真: Hán Nôm readings: chân, chan, chang, sân

  1. chữ Hán form of chân (“truth”).

Compounds

Compounds
Wikious
Boobota
Sagapedia