准确地说，...
Reach for this when you want to refine, narrow, or quietly correct something you just said. The English equivalent is 'more precisely' or 'to be exact.' Used in spoken Chinese to walk back an approximation ('I'm thirty — more precisely, thirty-one'), in writing to add definitional accuracy, and in interviews or journalism when a speaker tightens their phrasing. Neutral register, slightly formal in writing, polite in speech. It signals you care about being accurate, not just understood.
Structure
[Rough statement]. 准确地说，[more precise version].
zhǔnquè de shuō
How to Think About It
Think of it as a verbal zoom-in. The first sentence gives an outline; 准确地说 sharpens the focus. It doesn't contradict — it refines. Unlike 其实 ('actually' — which often corrects), 准确地说 acknowledges the first version was close, then offers the exact version. It's the move of someone who values precision: a teacher, an analyst, a careful witness.
Examples
我们公司有一百个人。准确地说，是九十八个。
Wǒmen gōngsī yǒu yī bǎi gè rén. Zhǔnquè de shuō, shì jiǔshíbā gè.
Our company has a hundred people. More precisely, ninety-eight.
他是我的同事。准确地说，他是我的老板。
Tā shì wǒ de tóngshì. Zhǔnquè de shuō, tā shì wǒ de lǎobǎn.
He's my coworker. More accurately, he's my boss.
她每天早上跑步。准确地说，是每周三次。
Tā měitiān zǎoshang pǎobù. Zhǔnquè de shuō, shì měi zhōu sān cì.
She runs every morning — to be precise, three times a week.
这个项目花了一年。准确地说，十一个月。
Zhège xiàngmù huāle yī nián. Zhǔnquè de shuō, shíyī gè yuè.
This project took a year — more precisely, eleven months.
Common Mistake
Learners overuse it as a generic 'actually,' which makes them sound like they're correcting themselves constantly. Use it only when the refinement is a measurable detail (number, name, date, definition), not an opinion shift.
我喜欢这本书。准确地说，我觉得它还可以。
我学了三年中文。准确地说，是两年半。
Don't Confuse With
其实...
'Actually' — used to flip or contradict what was said or assumed. 准确地说 only narrows the original; it doesn't reverse it.
也就是说，...
'In other words...' — restates the same idea in different words. 准确地说 makes the idea more exact, not just rephrased.
确切地说，...
Near-synonym, slightly more formal/written. Use 确切地说 in academic or news writing; 准确地说 fits speech and general writing.
Practice
Fill in: 我住在北京。____，我住在北京郊区。
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准确地说
Translate to Chinese: We have ten students — more precisely, nine.
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我们有十个学生。准确地说，是九个。
Arrange: 准确 / 说 / 地 / ， / 是 / 三十一 / 岁 / 我 / 今年
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准确地说，我今年是三十一岁。
Use 准确地说 to refine a number or fact about yourself.
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我学了五年钢琴。准确地说，是四年半。
Hear It in Real Episodes
This pattern appears in 1 Fluentide episode:
Related Grammar Patterns
Acquire by listening
Hear 准确地说，... in real Chinese, not in a textbook.
Fluentide picks the next news episode at your level, so this pattern shows up again and again in real context. The transcript marks it, the audio drills it. Free to start, no card.