How to say “serious” in Chinese

认真

rènzhēn

serious, diligent

adjective · HSK 3 · topic “People and personality”

“Serious” in Chinese is 认真, rèn zhēn: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.

How to pronounce it

认真 is read rèn zhēn: 2 syllables. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.

rèn — 4th tonesharply falling, like “Stop!”

zhēn — 1st tonehigh and level, like a long note

How to write it

认

rèn — recognize

讠 “speech” and 人 “person”.

真

zhēn — real, true

Strokes go in order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical. Tap a character to open its page, with the strokes shown large and the words it appears in. To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for “认真”.

Examples

Sentences from the course lessons with 认真. Tap the sound icon to listen.

她学习很认真tāxuéxíhěnrènzhēnShe studies very hard.
无论做什么他都很认真wúlùnzuòshénme,tādōuhěnrènzhēnWhatever he does, he takes it seriously.
集中精神认真做题jízhōngjīngshén,rènzhēnzuòtíConcentrate and work through the questions carefully.
他一次都没迟到过，可见他很认真。tāyícìdōuméichídàoguo,kějiàntāhěnrènzhēnHe's never been late once, so he's clearly very conscientious.
他们每天训练得很认真tāmenměitiānxùnliàndehěnrènzhēnThey train hard every day.
他昨天在办公室认真地看了报告。tāzuótiānzàibàngōngshìrènzhēndekànlebàogàoYesterday he carefully read the report in the office.

More words from the lesson “Smart, cute, diligent”

Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.

Frequently asked questions

How do you say “serious” in Chinese?

“Serious” in Chinese is 认真, pinyin rènzhēn.

What does 认真 mean?

认真 (rènzhēn) means “serious, diligent”.

How do you write 认真?

认真 is 2 characters: 认 (rèn) — recognize; 真 (zhēn) — real, true. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.

How do you pronounce 认真?

认真 is read rènzhēn. Tones: rèn — fourth tone, zhēn — first tone. The page has a native speaker recording.

“serious” in the lesson “Smart, cute, diligent”

This word is from the topic “People and personality” of HSK 3. In the lesson you hear it in a dialogue, build a sentence with it and say it out loud. Start for free, no sign-up needed.

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