坚信 (jiān xìn) — to firmly believe, to be convinced | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

坚信 is a strong, conviction-laden 'firmly believe,' often about ideals or long-held truths. It's more emphatic than 相信 ('believe, have faith in') and overlaps with 确信, but 坚信 foregrounds the speaker's personal commitment.

verb

to firmly believeto be convinced

Examples

坚信。
Tā jiān xìn zì jǐ de nǔ lì bú huì bái fèi.
She firmly believes that her efforts will not be wasted.
坚信。
Wǒ jiān xìn tōng guò bú duàn xué xí kě yǐ gǎi biàn mìng yùn.
I firmly believe that through continuous learning, one can change one's destiny.
坚信。
Qún zhòng jiān xìn zhèng fǔ de jué cè shì zhèng què de.
The public firmly believes that the government's decision is correct.

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xìnbelieve

坚 gives firmness to 信, meaning to believe without wavering.

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.

臤土堅

Meaning part形符xíngfú

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.

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.

Appears in

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