shí
adjective #6,208

Meanings

  1. 1 real; true; solid
  2. 2 honest; fruit

Examples

Zhè shì shìshí.
This is a fact.
Tā hěn lǎoshi.
He is very honest.
Shízài tàihǎole!
It's really great!

Tips

usage
forms many essential words: 其实 (actually), 事实 (fact), 实在 (really/indeed), 老实 (honest), 实际 (practical/actual), 真实 (true/real), 果实 (fruit).

Components

radical
mián
roof (radical)
Top radical — a peaked roof with two short walls, indexing as something inside a household. The traditional form had (a string of cowries) under the roof, picturing wealth packed into a home. The simplified keeps only this roof and a stylised lower piece. Same radical anchors , , , , .
semantic
tóu
head; modern reform shape
Bottom — the modern simplified form of (head), but here it is a graphic borrowing rather than a meaning contributor. In the 1956 reform, the cluttered underneath traditional was replaced by the much shorter silhouette. Treat as a visual placeholder: in it does not mean 'head', it just preserves the stack-shape.

Stroke Order

shí