HSK 3 · Time

其实 qíshí “actually” in Chinese

Traditional 其實

What 其实 means

  1. actually
  2. in fact
  3. really

How to say 其实

  • Pitch chart of the second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale其qí2nd tone, rising
  • Pitch chart of the second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale实shí2nd tone, rising

其实 in a sentence

  1. 其实他没去过美国。

    Qíshí tā méi qùguo Měiguó.

    He hasn’t actually been to America.

    Sentence #2833113 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  2. 你其实没必要带伞。

    Nǐ qíshí méi bìyào dài sǎn.

    You didn’t actually need to bring an umbrella.

    Sentence #332719 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  3. 他们都说我的口音像北方人，但我其实是南方人。

    Tāmen dōu shuō wǒ de kǒuyīn xiàng běifāng rén, dàn wǒ qíshí shì nánfāng rén.

    They all say I sound like someone from the north, but I’m actually from the south.

    Sentence #14002101 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 其实 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 其 (qí) with each of its parts in a different colour
其qíhis
  • 甘sweet · gān
  • 一one · yī
  • 八eight · bā

Memory aidDrawn from a winnowing basket. That meaning moved to 箕 (jī), and 其 came to mean “its, that”.

The character 实 (shí) with each of its parts in a different colour
实shíreal
  • 宀roof · mián
  • 头head · tóu

Memory aidSimplified from 實, a house 宀 full of strings of coins: solid, real.

How to write 其实

其 8 strokes · 实 8 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

其实 (qíshí) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 其实 (qíshí). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 其实

Words with 其

其他qítā · other其次qícì · next其中qízhōng · among尤其yóuqí · especially极其jíqí · extremely其余qíyú · the rest与其yǔqí · rather than (与其 A，不如 B: B rather than A)名副其实míngfùqíshí · worthy of the name莫名其妙mòmíngqímiào · baffling

Words with 实

诚实chéngshí · honest实际shíjì · actual确实quèshí · indeed实在shízài · really实际上shíjìshàng · in fact果实guǒshí · fruit (of a plant)实话shíhuà · truth实现shíxiàn · to achieve结实jiēshi · sturdy老实lǎoshi · honest

More words: Time

季节jìjié · season经常jīngcháng · often久jiǔ · long time马上mǎshàng · at once其他qítā · other秋qiū · autumn突然tūrán · sudden夏xià · summer

FAQs

其实 (qíshí) means “actually” or “in fact”. It is an HSK 3 word.
Say it qíshí: qí with a 2nd tone, then shí with a 2nd tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 其实 is written 其實. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type qishi with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 其实 from the suggestions. Typing qishi into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
其实 is an HSK 3 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

Turn words into conversations

A dictionary gives you the words. A native teacher shows you how to use them. Start with a free 30-minute intro call.

Book a free intro call

Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.