信心 (xìn xīn) — confidence, faith (in someone or something) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

信心 is 'confidence' — a feeling that something or someone will succeed, used with 对 or 充满. Compare 信念/信仰 (deeper belief or religious faith) and 把握 (confidence in a specific positive outcome).

noun

confidencefaith (in someone or something)

Measure word · 个

Examples

信心。
Wǒ duì nǐ hěn yǒu xìn xīn.
I have a lot of confidence in you.
信心。
Tā duì zì jǐ de jì huà hěn yǒu xìn xīn.
He has a lot of confidence in his own plan.
信心。
Dà jiā duì zhè ge jì huà chōng mǎn xìn xīn.
Everyone is full of confidence in this plan.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

信 (trust) and 心 (heart) together mean a heart filled with trust.

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.

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 心 comes from a drawing of a heart, now highly stylized.

Appears in

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