信任 (xìn rèn) — to trust; to have confidence in

Definition

信任 means 'to trust' a person or organization — a deeper, more deliberate trust than the everyday 信, and used for people/institutions rather than for faith or religion (信仰).

verb
to trustto have confidence in

Examples

  • 信任，。
    Wǒ wán quán xìn rèn nǐ, bú yòng jiě shì.
    I trust you completely; no need to explain.
  • 信任。
    Zhè jiā gōng sī zhí dé xìn rèn.
    This company is trustworthy.
  • 信任。
    Nǐ yào xué huì xìn rèn zì jǐ.
    You need to learn to trust yourself.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

信xìntrust
任rènentrust

信 (trust) and 任 (entrust) form a pair: to trust and entrust someone.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánwords
Sound part声符shēngfú
人
人rén信xìn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

信 pairs 人 as the sound part with 言 (words) as the meaning part.

Open 信 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
亻Written in full as人rénperson
Sound part声符shēngfú
壬
壬rén任rèn
Same sound today

任 pairs 亻, a person, with 壬, which may picture a shoulder pole turned sideways.

Open 任 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 5HSK 2.0 Level 41000 Most Frequent Chinese WordsAttitudes & Opinions2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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