实话

• Pinyin: shí huà
• Hanzi breakdown: 实 = 宀 + 贯 (real, solid, truthful); 话 = 讠+ 舌 (words, speech, spoken language)

Meaning

Honest words; the truth. What one genuinely believes or knows, stated without concealment or embellishment.

Often appears in phrases like 说实话 (to tell the truth, to be honest) and 讲实话 (to speak honestly). Contrasted with 假话 (lies), 客套话 (polite platitudes), and 场面话 (words said for appearances). Has a slightly colloquial register; the formal equivalent is 实情 (actual situation) or 真相 (the truth). Also used as a sentence opener meaning 'to be frank with you'.

Examples

1. 他犹豫了很久，最终还是决定说实话，把当时所见到的情形如实告诉了调查人员。 He hesitated for a long time, but in the end he decided to tell the truth and truthfully described what he had seen to the investigators.
2. 说实话，我对这个计划并没有太大把握，只是当时大家都觉得值得一试，所以才提出了这个方案。 To be honest, I don’t have much confidence in this plan; it was just that everyone felt it was worth a try at the time, so I proposed it.
3. 孩子说了实话之后，家长非但没有责怪，反而表扬了他的诚实，这让他以后更愿意坦诚地沟通。 After the child told the truth, the parents not only didn’t blame him—they praised his honesty, which made him more willing to communicate openly in the future.

Usage Guide

Context: conversation, honesty, personal relationships, investigation

Tone: candid

Do Say

• 领导特别叮嘱与会人员在这次内部评估会上只说实话，不说套话，要把当前工作中真正存在的困难和问题毫无保留地摆出来。(The leader specifically urged all attendees at this internal review meeting to speak only honestly and not mouth pleasantries, laying out without reservation the genuine difficulties and problems that currently exist in the work.)
• 说实话，这份报告的结论与我们团队内部的预判存在相当大的出入，我建议在公开发布之前再进行一轮独立核实。(To be honest, the conclusions of this report diverge considerably from our team's internal expectations; I recommend conducting another round of independent verification before public release.)

Don't Say

• 实话 in formal written or official documents — use 实情 (the actual situation) or 真实情况 (true circumstances); 实话 is conversational and sounds out of place in formal prose

Origin & History

实 (real, true) + 话 (words, speech)

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal