真
HSK 2- Emphasis
Structure (结构 jiégòu)
Meaning (意思 yìsi)
Adverb 真 is used to emphasize degree, expressing exclamation, equivalent to 'truly', 'really', 'so'.
Explanation (解释 jiěshì)
Use 真 (zhēn) to express surprise, exclamation, or sincere emphasis about a particular quality. It carries a stronger emotional tone than 很.
很 can be a purely objective observation (e.g., 他很高 – He is tall), whereas 真 always conveys emotion (e.g., 你真高啊! – You're really tall!). 真 commonly appears in exclamatory sentences and in spoken language.
Examples (例句 lìjù)(5)
- 今天天气真好！繁: 今天天氣真好！Jīntiān tiānqì zhēn hǎo!
The weather today is really nice!
- 你做的饭真好吃！繁: 你做的飯真好吃！Nǐ zuò de fàn zhēn hǎochī!
The food you cooked is really delicious!
- 这个孩子真可爱。繁: 這個孩子真可愛。Zhège háizi zhēn kě'ài.
This child is really adorable.
- 他真聪明！繁: 他真聰明！Tā zhēn cōngming!
He is really smart!
- 你的中文真不错。繁: 你的中文真不錯。Nǐ de Zhōngwén zhēn búcuò.
Your Chinese is really good.
Common mistakes
- Wrong:我真忙。Correct:我很忙。
真 is used for exclamation; if simply stating a fact objectively, 很 would be more natural.
- Wrong:他真一个好人。Correct:他真是一个好人。
真 is an adverb and cannot directly precede a measure word; the verb 是 is needed between them.