TongTong
Sign in

背信弃义 (bèi xìn qì yì) — to break faith with someone; to betray a trust; perfidious

Definition

A formal four-character idiom meaning to betray trust or break a promise — strongly negative, used for serious acts of disloyalty, not minor disagreements.

idiom
to break faith with someoneto betray a trustperfidious

Examples

  • 背信弃义，。
    Tā bèi xìn qì yì, bèi pàn le duō nián de lǎo péng you.
    He broke faith and betrayed an old friend of many years.
  • 背信弃义，。
    Zhè ge gōng sī bèi xìn qì yì, dān fāng miàn sī huǐ le hé tong.
    This company broke faith and unilaterally tore up the contract.
  • 背信弃义。
    Wǒ men jué bú zuò bèi xìn qì yì de shì qing.
    We will never do anything that breaks faith.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

背信betray trust
背bèibetray信xìntrust
动宾Verb + object
弃义abandon righteousness
弃qìabandon义yìrighteousness
动宾Verb + object

背 (betray) and 弃 (abandon) pair with 信 (trust) and 义 (righteousness) to express perfidy.

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
月Written in full as肉ròumeat
Sound part声符shēngfú
北
北běi背bèi
Same sound today

背 was first written as 北; 北 gives the sound, and 肉 (meat, written as 月 here) was added to separate it from 北’s north meaning.

Open 背 →

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 棄; 弃 is its simplified writing.

  • 子子zǐchild
  • 𠀠𠀠𠀠basket
  • 廾廾gǒngtwo hands

The traditional form 棄, not the simplified 弃, shows 子 (child), 𠀠 (basket), and 廾 (two hands), as a picture of throwing out a child in a basket.

Open 弃 →

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 義; 义 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
羊羊yáng
Sound part声符shēngfú
我
我wǒ義yì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 義 has 我 giving the sound and 羊 meaning good or auspicious; the simplified 义 is a later abbreviation.

Open 义 →
Appears in
Conflict & AgreementIdioms & Set Phrases

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