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真面目

Mandarin · pinyin zhēn miàn mù

true identity
true colors

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Characters in this entry

真: zhēn · real, actual, true, genuine
面: miàn · face; surface; plane; side, dimension; Kangxi radical 176
目: mù · eye; look, see; division, topic; Kangxi radical 109

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

1–4–4 · zhen1 mian4 mu4

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

zan1 min6 muk6

Cantonese word readings for 真面目. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

noun

(idiomatic, often derogatory) true features; true identity; true colors

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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