zhēn
verb

Meanings

  1. 1 to admonish; to exhort
  2. 2 admonition; maxim

Examples

Zhèxiē zhēnyán jīntiān réng zhídé míngjì.
These words of advice are still worth keeping in mind today.
Zhǎngzhě zhēn tā déyì shí mò jiāo'ào.
An elder admonished him not to be arrogant when successful.

Tips

usage
Most common in 箴言 (maxim; words of admonition) — also the Chinese title of the biblical Book of Proverbs. It once doubled as a variant of (needle): just as a needle pricks, an admonition is meant to sting you into improving.

Components

radical
zhú
bamboo
The bamboo top recalls the original sense of a bamboo needle or probe; from 'pricking needle' the meaning extended to a sharp verbal warning.
phonetic
xián
all; salty
Carries the sound: shifts to zhēn here, the same phonetic seen in .

Stroke Order

zhēn