诚 (chéng) is a Chinese character meaning “sincere”. It is written from 讠 (speech radical) and 成 (to become; to complete), side by side, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “sincere”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
讠 + 成
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字：誠，信也。从言成聲。现代字形按 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验（讠2 + 成6 = 8 笔）
Memory aid
讠 on the left is speech. 成 on the right just gives the sound chéng. Words (讠) that actually come true (成) — that is 诚, sincerity.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 诚实chéng shíhonest; truthful诚 = chéng
- 忠诚zhōng chéngloyal; faithful诚 = chéng
- 诚恳chéng kěnsincere; earnest诚 = chéng
- 诚挚chéng zhìsincere; cordial诚 = chéng
Go deeper
All readings
sincere
sincere; honest; true; truly
真心实意，不虚假。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 诚实chéng shíhonest; truthful诚 = chéng
- 忠诚zhōng chéngloyal; faithful诚 = chéng
- 诚恳chéng kěnsincere; earnest诚 = chéng
- 诚挚chéng zhìsincere; cordial诚 = chéng
Origin
A phono-semantic compound: 言 (written 讠 on the left in simplified form) marks it as something to do with speech, and 成 supplies the sound chéng. 诚 is speech you can trust — sincerity, honesty.
Source: 说文解字：誠，信也。从言成聲。
Sound component
成 family exact
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 诚 mean?
诚 (chéng) means sincere; honest; true; truly.
How do you pronounce 诚?
It is pronounced chéng.
What parts is 诚 made of?
讠 (speech radical) and 成 (to become; to complete), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字：誠，信也。从言成聲。现代字形按 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验（讠2 + 成6 = 8 笔）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 诚 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 诚?
言. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 诚?
Common ones are 诚实 and 忠诚. The reading of 诚 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.