Chinese character for believe: 相信 (xiāngxìn)
The Chinese word for believe is 相信 (xiāngxìn). It means to believe or to trust, as in 我相信你 (wǒ xiāngxìn nǐ, I believe you). It is the everyday verb used for believing in someone or something.
How 相信 is built
相 (xiāng) joins 木 (mù, tree) and 目 (mù, eye); the old picture is of looking closely at a tree, so it means to examine, and also 'each other'. 信 (xìn) is a person 亻 beside their words 言, meaning trust. As a memory aid, 相信 is looking at someone and trusting their word. Both characters are written the same way in simplified and traditional Chinese.
相 xiāng · mutual
- 木mù — tree
- 十 — ten
- 一 — horizontal stroke
- 丨 — vertical stroke
- 八bā — eight
- 十 — ten
- 目mù — eye
- 口kǒu — mouth
- 冂 — frame
- 一 — horizontal stroke
- 二 — two strokes
- 一 — horizontal stroke
- 一 — horizontal stroke
- 口kǒu — mouth
Origin hint: To stare 目 at a tree 木, meaning to observe (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)
信 xìn · letter
- 亻rén — person
- 言yán — words
- 亠tóu — lid
- 丶 — dot
- 一 — horizontal stroke
- 二 — two strokes
- 一 — horizontal stroke
- 一 — horizontal stroke
- 口kǒu — mouth
- 冂 — frame
- 一 — horizontal stroke
- 亠tóu — lid
How 相信 is used
Other ways to say believe
- 信 xìn — single character for trust and faith
Before you use it as a tattoo or design: For a 'believe in yourself' tattoo, 相信自己 is natural Chinese; a word-for-word translation of English slogans often is not.
Questions
What is the Chinese character for believe?
相信 (xiāngxìn) means “to believe”.
How do you pronounce 相信?
相信 is pronounced xiāngxìn.