真 (zhēn) is a Chinese character meaning “real”. It is written from 十 (ten) and 具 (tool; utensil), one above the other, and takes 10 strokes.
Build the character for “real; true”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
十 + 具
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: Kangxi radical assignment 目部 (U+771F) plus hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 ten-stroke modern glyph inspection: strokes 1-2 match 十, strokes 3-10 match 具
Memory aid
Check the tools (具) ten (十) times over — only then can you be sure they are real (真).
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
10 strokes
In real words
- 认真rèn zhēnserious; conscientious; earnest真 = zhēn
- 真正zhēn zhènggenuine; real; truly真 = zhēn
- 真菌zhēn jūnfungus真 = zhēn
Go deeper
All readings
real; true
real; true; genuine; really; truly
真实的，跟客观事实相符合的；也用作副词，表示“的确、实在”。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 认真rèn zhēnserious; conscientious; earnest真 = zhēn
- 真正zhēn zhènggenuine; real; truly真 = zhēn
- 真菌zhēn jūnfungus真 = zhēn
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 真 mean?
真 (zhēn) means real; true; genuine; really; truly.
How do you pronounce 真?
It is pronounced zhēn.
What parts is 真 made of?
十 (ten) and 具 (tool; utensil), one above the other. The recorded source is: Kangxi radical assignment 目部 (U+771F) plus hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 ten-stroke modern glyph inspection: strokes 1-2 match 十, strokes 3-10 match 具. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 真 have?
10. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 真?
目. 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 真?
Common ones are 认真 and 真正. The reading of 真 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.