TongTong
Sign in

坚信不疑 (jiān xìn bù yí) — to firmly believe without the slightest doubt

Definition

A written four-character idiom: 'to believe firmly without a shadow of doubt'. More emphatic and literary than the plain verb 相信, and stronger than the everyday 信任 ('to trust').

idiom
to firmly believe without the slightest doubt

Examples

  • 坚信不疑。
    Tā duì zì jǐ de pàn duàn jiān xìn bù yí.
    He firmly believes in his own judgment without any doubt.
  • 坚信不疑，。
    Wǒ men jiān xìn bù yí, zhèng yì zhōng jiāng zhàn shèng xié è.
    We firmly believe without doubt that justice will eventually triumph over evil.
  • 坚信不疑。
    Tā jiān xìn bù yí zhè ge jì huà yí dìng huì chéng gōng.
    She firmly believes without the slightest doubt that this plan will succeed.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

坚信firmly believe
坚jiānfirmly信xìnbelieve
偏正Modifier + head
不疑not doubt
不bùnot疑yídoubt
偏正Modifier + head

“坚” firmly, “信” believe, “不” not, and “疑” doubt together mean firm belief without doubt.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 堅; 坚 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
土土tǔ
Sound part声符shēngfú
臤
臤qiān堅jiān
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 堅 pairs 臤, giving the sound, with 土, earth, giving the sense; the simplified 坚 is a later shorthand.

Open 坚 →

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 →

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

The picture in 不 originally showed a flower’s calyx; the “no” sense came later from a related character, not from this picture.

Open 不 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

  • 大大dàstanding human figure
  • 夂夂zhǐtilted head with open mouth
  • 丨丨gǔncane

疑 depicts a standing figure 大 with a tilted, open-mouthed head 夂 and a cane 丨, a confused person looking around for direction.

Open 疑 →
Appears in
Thinking & Cognition

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.