Meaning & use
heart to heart conversation
Last updated
Meaning
phrasecountable
A serious, honest talk between two people about personal feelings or problems.
Grammar: Countable: you can say 'a heart to heart conversation' or 'heart to heart conversations'. Often used with 'have' or 'need'.
Patterns
- have a heart to heart conversation with someone
- need a heart to heart conversation
- a heart to heart conversation about something
After weeks of tension, they finally had a heart to heart conversation about their future.
I think we need a heart to heart conversation about what's bothering you.
She called her best friend for a heart to heart conversation after the argument.
Word forms
| plural | heart to heart conversations |
|---|
Common combinations
- have a heart to heart conversation
- We had a heart to heart conversation and cleared up the misunderstanding.
- a heart to heart conversation with someone
- He had a heart to heart conversation with his father about his career.
- a heart to heart conversation about something
- They had a heart to heart conversation about their finances.
- need a heart to heart conversation
- You two need a heart to heart conversation before things get worse.
Synonyms and how they differ
- heart-to-heart
- This is the shorter, more common form; it can be used as a noun ('We had a heart-to-heart') or an adjective ('a heart-to-heart talk').
- deep conversation
- This is broader and can be about ideas, not just personal feelings; it may not be as emotionally honest.
- heart-to-heart talk
- Very similar, but 'talk' is slightly more informal than 'conversation'.
Word family
- heart-to-heart noun
- An honest, personal talk.
- heart-to-heart adjective
- Describing a talk that is honest and personal.
Commonly confused: heart to heart conversation or heart-to-heart?
heart to heart conversation vs heart-to-heart
This is the shorter form; 'heart to heart conversation' is a longer phrase that includes the word 'conversation'. Both are correct, but 'heart-to-heart' is more common in everyday speech.
Practice
They decided to have a heart to heart ______ about their relationship.
Choose one answer.
'Conversation' is the noun that completes the phrase 'heart to heart conversation'. 'Talk' is also possible, but the phrase is usually 'heart to heart talk' without 'conversation'. 'Discussion' and 'chat' do not fit the fixed phrase.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “heart to heart conversation”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.