HSK 3.0 Level 4 · Adverbs

实际上 shíjìshàng “in fact” in Chinese

Traditional 實際上

What 实际上 means

  1. in fact
  2. actually
  3. in reality
  4. as a matter of fact
  5. in practice

How to say 实际上

  • Pitch chart of the second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale实shí2nd tone, rising
  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale际jì4th tone, falling
  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale上shàng4th tone, falling

实际上 in a sentence

  1. 实际上我错了。

    Shíjìshàng wǒ cuò le.

    Actually, I was wrong.

    Sentence #7773244 from Tatoeba

  2. 她看起来是年轻的，但实际上她四十多岁了。

    Tā kànqǐlai shì niánqīng de, dàn shíjìshàng tā sìshí duō suì le.

    She looks young, but she’s actually over forty.

    Sentence #3493410 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  3. 实际上没有那么难。

    Shíjìshàng méiyǒu nàme nán.

    It’s actually not that hard.

    Sentence #6120764 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters · translation adapted

How 实际上 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 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.

The character 际 (jì) with each of its parts in a different colour
际jìborder
  • 阝placeMeaning part
  • 示sign · shìSound part

阝 hints at the meaning (place); 示 (shì) hints at the sound. Compare it with jì.

The character 上 (shàng) with each of its parts in a different colour
上shàngup; upper; above; previous
  • ⺊divination form of 卜 · bǔ
  • 一one · yī

Memory aidA short stroke above the line: up, on top.

How to write 实际上

实 8 strokes · 际 7 strokes · 上 3 strokes

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

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

Words related to 实际上

Words with 实

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

Words with 际

国际guójì · international实际shíjì · actual交际jiāojì · social interaction之际zhījì · at the time of

Words with 上

上shàng · up上午shàngwǔ · morning (forenoon)上课shàngkè · to go to class上学shàngxué · to go to school早上zǎoshang · morning晚上wǎnshang · evening上班shàngbān · to go to work上面shàngmiàn · above路上lùshang · on the road上来shànglái · to come up

More words: Adverbs & Degree

刚刚gānggāng · just now越来越yuèláiyuè · more and more就要jiùyào · about to只是zhǐshì · only仍réng · still仅jǐn · only更加gèngjiā · even more共gòng · altogether

FAQs

实际上 (shíjìshàng) means “in fact” or “actually”. It is an HSK 3.0 Level 4 word.
Say it shíjìshàng: shí with a 2nd tone, then jì with a 4th tone, then shàng with a 4th 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, 实际上 is written 實際上. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type shijishang with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 实际上 from the suggestions. Typing shijishang into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
实际上 is an HSK 3.0 Level 4 word in the official 2021 syllabus, and it is on our HSK 3.0 Band 6 word list. It is not on the older HSK 2.0 word lists.

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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.