Chinese equivalent of "I can honestly say..."

Question

Is there a Chinese equivalent of "I can honestly say".

It's a rather colloquial expression, and I was wondering if there were something equivalent in Chinese to convey the same earnestness of the expression, "I can honestly say..."

I can honestly say I did my best.

I could try for a literal translation, but I want something that a native speaker would say, not Chinglish (or whatever the Chinese equivalent is called :P please comment if you know!).

Answer 1

Below all are fine.

(1)坦白說,... (2)老實說,... (3)坦白講,... (4)老實講,... (5)說[老]實話... (6)說真心話... (7)[我]打從心底說... (8)[我]敞開心房[向你]傾訴 (more literal, less colloquial)

+我已經盡[全]力了

or

+我已經做到最佳(表現,etc).

If you are writing a formal letter or convey in a more literal way, you may say,

• 我已付諸全力(+以赴).

Answer 2

For 'I can honestly say I did my best.':
* [说实话]我已经尽力了 or
* 我[真的]已经尽力了 ←probably the most colloquial one *

Answer 3

I think a equivalent for that is 实话说 or 我真的认为.

Answer 4

坦白说（讲），老实说（讲），凭心而论, 实不相瞒
oral forms (Northern dialect):说真的，不瞒您说，说实话，凭良心说，打心眼里说，实话告诉你，说实话，说句老实话，凭良心说

Answer 5

“实话和你说吧，” or “实话告诉你，” or "说实话, "都是比较口语的说法。

Answer 6

凭良心讲

C'est juste une phrase contre la censure de langue.

Answer 7

In more Chinese term:老實的告訴你 我已經盡力了 (老实的告诉你 我已经尽力了）

Answer 8

As you can see that there are lots of translations, all are prefect translation for "I can honestly say", user43796's list is what I'd choose.

As in the content of "I can honestly say I did my best", 比较口语的说法 is:

说真的,我真尽力了

More formal expression for this specific content are,

凭心而论, 凭良心说，实不相瞒

"坦白的说（讲）"/ "老实说" was my first choice, until seeing your example. It is more appropriate if the example is something like:

I can honestly say you are not ugly.

Do NOT use “实话和你说吧，” or “实话告诉你，” unless you are expression your intention to argue with him/her.

Answer 9

Since you are asking for colloquial expression, these ones are commonly used:

哥们儿，我不骗你，我尽全力了。

我尽全力了，骗你我是小狗。