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守信 (shǒu xìn) — to keep one's promises, to be trustworthy

Definition

守信 means 'to keep one's word' and focuses on the person being reliable and trustworthy. It's a verb-object pair built on 守 ('to keep/abide by'); 坚守 is stronger and more emphatic, used for firmly holding to principles or a position under pressure.

verb
to keep one's promisesto be trustworthy

Examples

  • 守信，。
    Tā shì gè shǒu xìn de rén, dà jiā dōu xìn rèn tā.
    He is a trustworthy person; everyone trusts him.
  • 守信，。
    Rú guǒ nǐ bù shǒu xìn, bié rén jiù bú huì zài xiāng xìn nǐ le.
    If you don't keep your promises, others won't believe you anymore.
  • 守信，。
    Hé zuò shuāng fāng dōu yào shǒu xìn, cái néng cháng qī fā zhǎn.
    Both sides of a partnership must keep their word to achieve long-term development.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

守shǒukeep
信xìntrust

守 means keep, and 信 means trust or promise; keeping trust gives keeping promises.

Characters in this word

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

  • 宀宀miánroof; building
  • 寸寸cùnhand

守 pairs 宀, a roof or building, with 寸, a hand, to show a hand guarding a place.

Open 守 →

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 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Personality & Traits

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