Meaning
Used to introduce an honest, often surprising or uncomfortable statement
Primary Function
Truth-emphasising / hedging marker
Communicative Purpose
To signal sincerity, sometimes before a criticism or admission
Pattern
To tell the truth
Core Structure
To tell the truth
Função primária
Truth-emphasising / hedging marker
Propósito comunicativo
To signal sincerity, sometimes before a criticism or admission
Situações de gatilho
Giving frank opinions, admitting faults, delicate conversations
Contextos
Spoken, mainly informal
Padrão
To tell the truth
Estrutura central
To tell the truth
Slots de substituição
"To be honest", "Honestly", "Truth be told"
Colocados típicos
- To tell the truth
- I don't really...
Substituições comuns
- frankly
- to be honest
- if I'm honest
Erros comuns
Using it aggressively; it should soften a potentially negative remark
Similar / contraste
to be honest, frankly
Interferências
Literal translation in some languages may not carry the hedging function
Família do chunk
- honesty markers
Nuance
Admits that what follows is personal and sincere; often prefacing a negative or surprising opinion
Efeito pragmático
Builds trust, reduces face threat
Dica de memória
Truthful confession
Nota
This chunk is used to introduce a personal and sincere statement, often to soften a potentially negative or surprising opinion. It is commonly used in informal spoken contexts to build trust and reduce face threat.
Upgrade path
honestly → to tell the truth → truth be told
Log in to save chunks.