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信得过 (xìn de guò) — to be trustworthy; to be able to trust (someone or something)

Definition

A resultative verb phrase meaning 'can be trusted / reliable', where 过 marks the successful completion of trusting. Stronger than the plain 相信: it emphasizes the person or thing has proven trustworthy.

verb
to be trustworthyto be able to trust (someone or something)

Examples

  • 信得过。
    Tā shì wǒ zuì xìn de guò de rén.
    He is the person I trust the most.
  • 信得过。
    Dà jiā dōu xìn de guò tā de néng lì.
    Everyone trusts his ability.
  • 信得过。
    Zhè jiā gōng sī shēng chǎn de qì chē zhì liàng xìn de guò.
    The quality of the cars produced by this company is trustworthy.

Origin

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 →

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

The old form 㝵 showed a hand picking up a cowry, meaning to obtain; later changes turned that picture into 得.

Open 得 →

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 過; 过 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
辵辵chuòwalk
Sound part声符shēngfú
咼
咼wāi過guò
Same sound today

The traditional form 過 pairs 辵 (walk) with 咼 as a sound component; the simplified 过 is a shorthand, and its parts are not the historical components.

Open 过 →
Appears in
Personality & Traits

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