真zhēn

眞 (zhēn, "true/genuine") preserves in its traditional form a striking image: a person standing upright (亻) with wide eyes (目) atop a base, as if presenting oneself plainly for all to see. The simplified 真 drops the human figure and the base, leaving only the eyes — a reduction that loses some of the original drama but keeps the core meaning of openness and authenticity. Characters related to 眞, such as 慎 (cautious, literally "careful heart"), still carry the ancient eye motif, reminding us that truth was once something you could look in the face.