迷信 (mí xìn) — to be superstitious about; to have blind faith in (something)

Definition

迷信 can be both a verb ('to have blind faith in, to be superstitious about') and a noun ('superstition'). It implies an uncritical belief in something without evidence, unlike 信仰 which denotes a genuine, considered faith.

verb
to be superstitious aboutto have blind faith in (something)

Examples

  • 迷信，。
    Hěn duō rén mí xìn xīng zuò, jué de tā néng jué dìng xìng gé.
    Many people are superstitious about horoscopes, thinking they can determine personality.
  • 迷信，。
    Bú yào mí xìn quán wēi, yào xiāng xìn shì shí.
    Don't blindly trust authority; believe in facts.
  • 迷信，。
    Tā mí xìn suàn mìng, měi cì kǎo shì qián dōu yào suàn yí guà.
    He is superstitious about fortune-telling and always consults a divination before exams.

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.

迷míblindly, excessively
信xìnbelieve

“迷” (blindly, excessively) and “信” (believe) combine into blind faith or superstitious belief.

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
辵辵chuòwalk
Sound part声符shēngfú
米
米mǐ迷mí
Same sound today

迷 uses 辵, the walking part, and 米, which gives the sound.

Open 迷 →

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 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Religion & Belief

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