信 meaning and stroke order
Letter; mail; to trust
How to write 信, stroke by stroke
9 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
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- 4
- 5
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- 9
Meaning of 信
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- letter
- to trust
- to believe
- to profess faith in
- truthful
How 信 is built
Components of the character.
Radical: 亻 (man), shared by 277 characters on this site.
How to remember 信
信 is a person 亻 standing beside their words 言 (yán). A person who stands by what they say is someone you can trust, and words sent from a person become a letter.
信 appears in many common words about trust and messages, such as 相信 (xiāngxìn, to believe), 信息 (xìnxī, information), and 短信 (duǎnxìn, text message). On its own it often means a letter. Example: 我相信你。(Wǒ xiāngxìn nǐ.) I believe you.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes use 信 alone to mean "believe" in speech, but everyday Chinese usually says 相信 (xiāngxìn), as in 我相信他, not 我信他 in most neutral contexts. Also keep the tone falling (xìn), not the first-tone xīn of 心 in 信心 (xìnxīn).
Common words with 信
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 相信 | xiāngxìn | to believe; to be convinced; to accept as true | HSK 2 |
| 信息 | xìnxī | information; news; message | HSK 2 |
| 信号 | xìnhào | signal | HSK 2 |
| 信心 | xìnxīn | confidence; faith (in sb or sth) | HSK 2 |
| 短信 | duǎnxìn | text message; SMS | HSK 2 |
| 信用卡 | xìnyòngkǎ | credit card | HSK 2 |
| 信任 | xìnrèn | to trust; to have confidence in | HSK 3 |
| 信封 | xìnfēng | envelope | HSK 3 |
| 通信 | tōngxìn | to correspond (by letter, email etc); to send or receive messages through telecommunicatio | HSK 3 |
| 自信 | zìxìn | to have confidence in oneself; self-confidence | HSK 4 |
| 诚信 | chéngxìn | honesty; trustworthiness; good faith | HSK 4 |
| 微信 | wēixìn | Weixin or WeChat (instant messaging and social media app developed by Tencent 騰訊|腾讯[Teng2 | HSK 4 |
| 信念 | xìnniàn | faith; belief | HSK 5 |
| 迷信 | míxìn | superstition; to have a superstitious belief (in sth) | HSK 5 |
信 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 信
How many strokes are in 信?
信 is written with 9 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 信 mean?
信 (xìn) means letter; mail; to trust. A common word with it is 相信 (xiāngxìn), meaning "to believe; to be convinced; to accept as true".
How do you pronounce 信?
信 is pronounced xìn, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 信?
The radical of 信 is 亻, which carries the idea of "man". Dictionaries list 信 under this radical.
Is 信 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 信 is part of the HSK 2 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 2.
What is the difference between 相信 and 信任?
相信 (xiāngxìn) means to believe that something or someone is true, like believing a statement. 信任 (xìnrèn) means to trust a person deeply and rely on them, so it is about a relationship over time.
Can 信 mean religious belief?
Yes. 信 can mean to profess faith in a religion, as in 信佛 (xìn fó), to believe in Buddhism. In this sense it is commonly used alone before the name of the religion.