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HSK 3

以为

to assume (mistakenly); to think

verbneutral
以
yǐ3rd tone
为
wéi2nd tone

HSK level

1
2
3
4
5
6
Pinyin
yǐwéi
Part of speech
verb
Level
HSK 3
Strokes
8
Register
neutral

Stroke order for 以为

以为 is written with 8 strokes (以: 4, 为: 4). The animation replays automatically.

What does 以为 mean?

以为 (yǐwéi) means 'to think, to assume' — but almost always with the implication that the thought turned out to be WRONG.

It is the go-to word for moments of misunderstanding: '我以为今天是星期五' ('I thought today was Friday' — but actually it isn't). Two things English speakers often miss. First, 以为 is NOT the neutral 'I think / I believe' — that is 觉得 (juéde) or 认为 (rènwéi).

Using 以为 when you simply state an opinion sounds odd, because the listener will assume your view was incorrect. Second, 以为 almost always pairs with a clause expressing what you wrongly believed, and is typically followed by a corrective ('我以为他是日本人, 其实他是中国人' — 'I thought he was Japanese, actually he's Chinese'). It is one of the most useful HSK 3 verbs because it captures a feeling English needs a whole phrase ('I was under the impression that…') to express.

Character by character

以yǐto take; by means of
+
为wéito be; to consider as
=
以为

Memory hook: 以 (take) + 为 (as) = to take X as Y = to assume X to be Y (often wrongly).

Example sentences

我以为今天是星期五。

Wǒ yǐwéi jīntiān shì xīngqīwǔ.

I thought today was Friday (but it's not).

spoken

我以为你不来了。

Wǒ yǐwéi nǐ bù lái le.

I thought you weren't coming.

spoken

别以为我不知道。

Bié yǐwéi wǒ bù zhīdào.

Don't assume I don't know.

spoken

我以为他是老师，其实他是学生。

Wǒ yǐwéi tā shì lǎoshī, qíshí tā shì xuéshēng.

I thought he was a teacher, actually he's a student.

neutral

你以为这件事很容易吗？

Nǐ yǐwéi zhè jiàn shì hěn róngyì ma?

Did you think this would be easy?

spoken

Common phrases with 以为

我以为wǒ yǐwéiI thought (mistakenly)
原来以为yuánlái yǐwéioriginally thought (then learned otherwise)
以为是yǐwéi shìthought it was…
别以为bié yǐwéidon't assume / don't think
你以为呢nǐ yǐwéi newhat did you think? (often teasing)

Synonyms

觉得juéde

觉得 is the neutral 'I think / feel' for current opinions. 以为 implies you WERE wrong. 我觉得他是好人 ('I think he's a good person', a stated view) vs 我以为他是好人 ('I thought he was a good person', implying he turned out not to be).

认为rènwéi

认为 is the more formal / written 'to believe, to hold the view that' — used in essays and considered opinions. 以为 is informal and usually carries the wrong-assumption tone. Don't confuse them.

Don't confuse 以为 with

认为rènwéi

认为 = neutral / formal 'to believe / consider'. 以为 = 'to assume (mistakenly)'. Mixing them up makes a sentence sound either accidentally insulting or just wrong.

觉得juéde

觉得 is the everyday 'I think / feel'. 以为 implies the thought was wrong. Native speakers will hear 以为 as 'I was under the false impression'.

为wèi

为 alone (wèi, fourth tone) means 'for, for the sake of' (我为你做的 'I did it for you'). Inside 以为 it's read wéi (second tone) with the verb-meaning 'to consider as'. Different reading, different role.

FAQ

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