shī zhēn
Meaning
distortion
to lose fidelity
to be distorted
Explanation
Refers to the distortion of signals such as sound or images. It also means to deviate from the facts or truth and become inaccurate.
Antonyms
Derivatives
Easily confused
Etymology
Composed of "失" (to lose) and "真" (truth, original state).
Memory tips
Remember it as "losing" (失) the "truth/original state" (真), hence becoming "distorted". Although the characters look similar to the Japanese word for photograph (写真), the meaning is completely different.
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