zhēn

real

Original meaning: 

precious

Based on the original meaning "precious", now written as . The meaning later shifted to "genuine" and "true".

Components
殄 sound,remnant component

  Sound Remnant component

tiǎn

  

exterminate

Based on an ancient variant of .

貝 meaning component

  Meaning component

bèi

  

sea shell

In ancient China, shells were considered precious and were used as currency.

丁 sound component

  Sound component

dīng

  

cubes

Evolution

真 Bronze script Early Western Zhou (~1000 BC)

Bronze script

Early Western Zhou (~1000 BC)
真 Seal script Shuowen (~100 AD)

Seal script

Shuowen (~100 AD)
真 Clerical script Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Clerical script

Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)
真 Regular script Modern

Regular script

Modern
Definitions

 

zhēn

real, actual, true, genuine; really; truly; indeed; real; true; genuine

Most common words with 真
Freq.
Word
Meaning

really

真是

indeed

真正

genuine

认真

earnest

真实

true

Component uses

Sound component in 14 characters (5 verified)