King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Chinese symbol for “frankly”

说实话
shuō shí huà
Traditional: 說實話
to speak the truth; truth to tell; frankly

The closest CC-CEDICT match for frankly is 说实话 (shuō shí huà), defined as: to speak the truth; truth to tell; frankly.

Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.

Characters and stroke order

说 shuō
to speak, to say; to scold, to upbraid
radical 149 ⾔ · 9 strokes
实 shí
real, true; honest, sincere
radical 40 ⼧ · 8 strokes
话 huà
talk, speech; language, dialect
radical 149 ⾔ · 8 strokes

Traditional forms

Related words

Other words that share a character with 说实话.

WordPinyinMeaning
说明 (說明)shuō míngto explain; to illustrate
小说 (小說)xiǎo shuōnovel; fiction
说话 (說話)shuō huàto speak; to say
听说 (聽說)tīng shuōto hear (sth said); one hears (that)
说法 (說法)shuō fǎto expound Buddhist teachings
其实 (其實)qí shíactually; in fact; really
实现 (實現)shí xiànto achieve; to implement; to realize; to bring about
实施 (實施)shí shīto implement; to carry out
电话 (電話)diàn huàtelephone; measure word: 部 (bù)

See also: Japanese symbol for “frankly”.

Data: CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0); Unihan Database (Unicode License v3); Make Me a Hanzi (Arphic Public License (graphics.txt); LGPL-3.0-or-later (dictionary.txt)); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.

Last posts

  1. Best Escrima Sticks for Kids Under Ten
  2. How Many Kali Sticks Should You Own for Training
  3. Best Stick Striking Gear Tire Stands vs Training Dummies
  4. Best Forearm Guards for Stick Drills and Impact Protection
  5. Best Burned-Pattern Rattan Sticks for Gift Giving
  6. Choosing a Stick-Fighting Helmet for Club Sparring
  7. How to Stop Escrima Sticks Slipping with Sweaty Hands
  8. Choosing Soft Sticks for Kids Games and Safe Play
  9. Best Padded Sticks for Self-Defense Training and Safety
  10. Best Lightweight Escrima Sticks for Speed and Quick Strikes