Actually: 其实
副词 / adverbs
Tone colorsā tone 1á tone 2ǎ tone 3à tone 4a neutral
其实 + clause ｜ Subject + 其实 + Verb
其实 (qíshí) = "actually, in fact". It introduces the truth that corrects an appearance, a common belief, or what the other person thinks.
It goes at the start or after the subject: 其实我不太喜欢 / 我其实不太喜欢.
Great for politely nuancing your opinion. Careful: French speakers, 其实 does not mean "actuellement" (that's 现在 / 目前).
Examples
很多人觉得中文很难，其实语法很简单。
Hěn duō rén juéde Zhōngwén hěn nán, qíshí yǔfǎ hěn jiǎndān.Many people think Chinese is hard, but actually the grammar is simple.
他看起来很严格，其实人很好。
Tā kàn qilai hěn yángé, qíshí rén hěn hǎo.He looks strict, but he's actually really nice.
其实我也不太清楚。
Qíshí wǒ yě bú tài qīngchu.Actually, I'm not too sure either.
Common mistakes
✗ Using 其实 for "currently" → ✓ 我现在在北京工作。
其实 introduces a correction: there must be an idea (even implicit) being corrected.