Fluentide
Fluentide for iOS is out — get the app
HSK 3

相信

to believe; to trust

verbneutral2 episodes
相
xiāng1st tone
信
xìn4th tone

HSK level

1
2
3
4
5
6
Pinyin
xiāngxìn
Part of speech
verb
Level
HSK 3
Strokes
18
Register
neutral
In episodes
2

Stroke order for 相信

相信 is written with 18 strokes (相: 9, 信: 9). The animation replays automatically.

What does 相信 mean?

相信 (xiāngxìn) is the verb 'to believe / to trust.'

It takes a person or a statement as object: 我相信你 (I trust you), 我相信他说的话 (I believe what he said). Two distinctions matter for English speakers. First, 相信 is stronger than 'think' — don't use it to mean 'I believe (= think) it will rain.' For that opinion sense, use 觉得 (juéde) or 认为 (rènwéi).

相信 implies real conviction or trust in a person/claim. Second, 'believe in' (a religion, in someone's ability) is also 相信, but the religious sense 'believe in God' is usually 信 alone (信上帝). The character makeup is transparent: 相 (mutual) + 信 (trust / letter / believe) — 'mutually trust.' The negation is 不相信; for emphatic disbelief, native speakers also say 才不相信 ('absolutely don't believe it').

Character by character

相xiāngmutual; each other
+
信xìnto trust; believe; letter
=
相信

Memory hook: 相 (mutual) + 信 (trust) — 'mutual trust' = to believe / trust.

Hear 相信 in real episodes

相信 appears in 2 Fluentide podcast episodes at natural native speed — each with the full Chinese script, pinyin, and line-by-line English translation.

Harry Potter fans have long left socks at Dobby's grave, ultimately forcing a £430 million cable project to change its route.相信 spoken at natural speedmediumNigerian Newcomer Oba Femi Defeated WWE's "Beast" Brock Lesnar in a Cage Match相信 spoken at natural speedeasy
Browse the full episode library

Example sentences

我相信你。

Wǒ xiāngxìn nǐ.

I trust you.

neutral

他不相信这是真的。

Tā bù xiāngxìn zhè shì zhēn de.

He doesn't believe this is real.

neutral

要相信自己，你一定可以的。

Yào xiāngxìn zìjǐ, nǐ yídìng kěyǐ de.

Believe in yourself — you can definitely do it.

spoken

我相信他说的话。

Wǒ xiāngxìn tā shuō de huà.

I believe what he said.

neutral

对不起，我真的很难相信。

Duìbuqǐ, wǒ zhēn de hěn nán xiāngxìn.

Sorry, I really find it hard to believe.

spoken

Common phrases with 相信

我相信你wǒ xiāngxìn nǐI trust you
相信自己xiāngxìn zìjǐbelieve in yourself
不相信bù xiāngxìnto not believe
难以相信nányǐ xiāngxìnhard to believe
相信爱情xiāngxìn àiqíngto believe in love

Synonyms

信xìn

信 alone also means 'to believe / trust' but feels more abrupt and is often used for religion or short emphatic statements (我不信 = 'I don't buy it'). 相信 is the standard polite/neutral form in most sentences.

认为rènwéi

认为 means 'to think / hold the view that' — an opinion, not a conviction. Use 认为 for analytical opinions (我认为这个方法不好 = 'I think this method isn't good'); use 相信 for trust in a person or belief in a claim.

觉得juéde

觉得 is the everyday 'feel / think' for soft opinions. 我觉得 = 'I feel / I think (casually).' 相信 is much stronger — 'I am convinced / I trust.' Don't say 相信 when 'I think' is meant.

Don't confuse 相信 with

相同xiāngtóng

相同 means 'the same / identical.' Same first character 相, but the meaning is unrelated. 我们的想法相同 = 'our ideas are the same'; 我相信他 = 'I trust him.'

信xìn

信 alone can mean 'letter' (a written message) as well as 'believe.' 写信 = 'write a letter'; 相信 = 'to believe.' Context distinguishes.

信任xìnrèn

信任 means 'trust' specifically (often as a noun: 'I have trust in him'). 相信 is closer to 'believe.' You 相信 a statement; you 信任 a person's character.

FAQ

Related words from the same episodes

办法method, plan保护to protect比赛contest, competition打to hit, to strike电缆cable规矩rule家养小精灵house-elf角色character (in a story)开始to begin看to look累tired力气strength

Acquire it by listening

Meet 相信 again — in real Chinese, at your level.

You just saw 相信 in 2 episodes. Fluentide keeps feeding you news episodes at your level, so this word — and thousands like it — resurface in real sentences until they stick. Full pinyin and translation every time. Free to start.