Today’s word of the day is 真 (zhēn) which means ‘real’. Let’s practice making different words, phrases, and sentences with 真 (zhēn).
认真 (rèn zhēn) Serious
The first word is 认真 (rèn zhēn) which means ‘serious’. Let’s look at each character of this word, 认 means ‘to recognize’ and 真 means ‘real’. A way of using it in a sentence is: 你太认真！(Nǐ tài rènzhēnle!) You are too serious!
真正 (zhēn zhèng) Genuine
Another word we can create with 真 (zhēn) is 真正 (zhēn zhèng). This means ‘genuine’. Let’s again look at each character of this word, 真means ‘real’ and 正 means ‘correct’. A way of using it in a sentence is 你的真正目的是什么？(Nǐ de zhēnzhèng mùdì shì shénme?) What are your genuine intentions?
天真 (tiān zhēn) Naive
Finally, we can create the word 天真 (tiān zhēn) which means ‘naive’. The 天 here means ‘sky’. A way of using it in a sentence is 他骗那个天真的人说出了秘密。(Tā piàn nàgè tiānzhēn de rén shuō chūle mìmì.) He tricked that naive person into telling their secret.