zan1 sam1真心

Jyutpingzan1 sam1

Yalejān sām

副詞Common

Definition

Sincere, genuine, or heartfelt; acting from the bottom of one's heart without pretense.

colloquialemotioncommunication

How it's used

Used as an adverb to emphasize that a statement or feeling is authentic and free of pretense. It often appears at the start of a sentence to signal that the speaker is about to be blunt or honest about their true opinion. Unlike formal written Chinese, it functions naturally in casual conversation to soften the delivery of a serious or critical remark.

Examples

ngo5我zan1真sam1心gok3覺dak1得ni1呢go3個caan1餐teng1廳di1啲je5嘢sik6食hou2好zeng3正。

I genuinely think the food at this restaurant is great.

nei5你hai6係mai6咪zan1真sam1心soeng2想tung4同keoi5佢dou6道hip3歉㗎？

Are you sincerely wanting to apologize to them?

Common phrases

zan1真sam1心zan1真ji3意

with all one's heart

zan1真sam1心waa2話

truthful words

Common mistake

Avoid using it to mean "truth" as a noun, which is better expressed as 真話 or 真相. Learners sometimes mistakenly use it as a direct translation for "really" in every context, but it specifically implies emotional sincerity rather than just factual accuracy.