Level 5 · Advanced
Simply: 简直
简直 + Exaggeration · Traditional: 簡直 + Exaggeration
简直 (jiǎnzhí) means "simply" or "practically" and announces that an exaggeration is coming: 这里的风景简直太美了 "the scenery here is simply gorgeous."
What follows 简直 should be extreme — 太…了, 像…一样, or an outright impossibility. Pairing it with a plain, everyday fact sounds off, because 简直 exists to signal "I'm not even exaggerating… okay, I'm exaggerating a little."
Examples
这里的风景简直太美了。
這裡的風景簡直太美了。
zhè lǐ de fēng jǐng jiǎn zhí tài měi le
The scenery here is simply stunning.
他说的话我简直不敢相信。
他說的話我簡直不敢相信。
tā shuō de huà wǒ jiǎn zhí bù gǎn xiāng xìn
I simply can't believe what he said.
这个地方简直像天堂一样。
這個地方簡直像天堂一樣。
zhè ge dì fāng jiǎn zhí xiàng tiān táng yī yàng
This place is practically heaven.
你们俩简直一模一样。
你們倆簡直一模一樣。
nǐ men liǎ jiǎn zhí yī mú yī yàng
You two are practically identical.
Common mistakes
✗ 我简直有两个哥哥。
✓ 我有两个哥哥。
简直 needs an exaggeration after it. A plain fact doesn't qualify.
Related grammar points
Practice this pattern in graded stories like Pictures vs. Reality (Part 2), The Viewing (Part 3) inside the Literate Chinese app.
