说实话

說實話

shuōshíhuà

phrase HSK 6 #1,740

Meanings

1 to be honest; frankly speaking; to tell the truth

Characters

to say; to speak

real; true; honest

To speak true words — to be honest, frankly speaking.

Examples

说实话，我不太想去。

Shuō shí huà, wǒ bù tài xiǎng qù.

To be honest, I don't really want to go.

说实话，这个菜不太好吃。

Shuō shí huà, zhège cài bù tài hǎochī.

Frankly speaking, this dish isn't very good.

我希望你能跟我说实话。

Wǒ xīwàng nǐ néng gēn wǒ shuō shí huà.

I hope you can be honest with me.

Tips

usage

说实话 (frankly speaking, softens honesty) vs 老实说 (lǎoshí shuō, honestly speaking, very similar) vs 坦白说 (tǎnbái shuō, candidly, more formal). All are used at the start of a sentence to preface an honest opinion.

Stroke Order

说 shuō

实 shí

话 huà