轻信 (qīng xìn) — to be credulous; to gullibly believe

Definition

轻信 (qīngxìn) means believing something too readily without checking — a negative trait, unlike 信任 ('to trust', a positive, deliberate choice).

verb

to be credulousto gullibly believe

Examples

轻信。
Tā tài róng yì qīng xìn bié rén le.
He is too quick to believe others.
轻信。
Bú yào qīng xìn nà xiē xū jiǎ guǎng gào.
Don't gullibly believe those false advertisements.
轻信。
Tā yīn wèi qīng xìn chuán yán chī le dà kuī.
She suffered a great loss because she credulously believed the rumors.

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.

轻qīnglightly

信xìnbelieve

轻, 'lightly', with 信, 'believe', gives trusting without thought.

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 輕; 轻 is its simplified writing.

車巠輕

Meaning part形符xíngfú

車車jūcarriage

Sound part声符shēngfú

巠

巠jīng輕qīng

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 輕 pairs 車, a carriage, with 巠 to give the sound; it originally named a light carriage. The simplified 轻 is only a later shorthand.

Open 轻 →

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

Thinking & Cognition