实事求是 (shí shì qiú shì)

Character breakdown

• 实 (shí) · 8 strokes

  Simplified form of 實. Depicts a string of money (貫) under a roof (宀). Based on the original meaning "rich; plentiful". The meaning later expanded to "solid", "fruit", and "true". The 貫 component was…

• 事 (shì) · 8 strokes

  The characters 史 (history), 吏 (government official), 使 (cause; use; instruct), and 事 (matter; work; affair) are all etymologically related and all derive from the same ancient character, depicting a h…

• 求 (qiú) · 7 strokes

  Pictograph of a crawling insect. The current meaning "seek" or "beg" is a phonetic loan.

• 是 (shì) · 9 strokes

  Origin unclear. The bottom component 止 represents the sound.

Usage

我们说话办事都要实事求是。

lit. to seek truth from facts (idiom); fig. to be practical and realistic

wǒ men shuō huà bàn shì dōu yào shí shì qiú shì 。