信念 meaning in English

xìnniàn

faith; belief

HSK 5noun17 strokes

Meaning of 信念

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

xìnniàn

faith
belief
conviction

How to use 信念

信念 is a fairly formal noun for a firm belief or conviction, often about values, goals, or principles. It often goes with verbs like 坚定 (jiāndìng, firm) or 坚持 (jiānchí, to hold to). Example: 她的信念很坚定。(Tā de xìnniàn hěn jiāndìng.) Her conviction is very firm.

信 (xìn) means to trust or believe, and 念 (niàn) means a thought you keep in mind. A 信念 is a thought you trust so deeply that you hold onto it.

Common mistake: Learners often mix up 信念 with 信心 (xìnxīn). 信心 is confidence that something will work out, as in 我有信心 (I am confident). 信念 is a deeper belief or principle you live by. Also, 念 is fourth tone, niàn, not nián.

信念 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

有yǒu信xìn念niàn。

Have faith.

不bú要yào害hài怕pà活huó著zhù。要yào相xiāng信xìn生shēng命mìng是shì有yǒu价jià值zhí的de，你nǐ的de信xìn念niàn会huì使shǐ之zhī成chéng真zhēn。

Be not afraid of life. Believe that life is worth living, and your belief will help create the fact.

我wǒ们men应yīng该gāi尽jǐn量liàng避bì免miǎn把bǎ我wǒ们men自zì己jǐ的de信xìn念niàn强qiáng加jiā在zài别bié人rén身shēn上shàng。

We should try to avoid imposing our own beliefs on others.

他tā的de行xíng为wéi和hé他tā的de信xìn念niàn背bèi道dào而ér驰chí。

His behavior is contrary to his belief.

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

信 xìn · letter · 9 strokes

念 niàn · to read · 8 strokes

Related words

Words that share a character with 信念.

相信	xiāngxìn	to believe; to be convinced; to accept as true
信息	xìnxī	information; news; message
信号	xìnhào	signal
信心	xìnxīn	confidence; faith (in sb or sth)
短信	duǎnxìn	text message; SMS
信用卡	xìnyòngkǎ	credit card
信任	xìnrèn	to trust; to have confidence in
纪念	jìniàn	to commemorate; to honor the memory of; memento; keepsake; souvenir
概念	gàiniàn	concept; idea
信封	xìnfēng	envelope
通信	tōngxìn	to correspond (by letter, email etc); to send or receive messages through telecommunicatio
观念	guānniàn	notion; thought

Questions about 信念

What does 信念 mean?

信念 (xìnniàn) means "faith; belief" and is used as a noun.

How do you write 信念?

信念 is made of 2 characters: 信 (9 strokes), 念 (8 strokes). That is 17 strokes in total.

Is 信念 an HSK word?

Yes. 信念 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

Can 信念 be used for religious faith?

It can describe strong faith in general, but for religious belief specifically Chinese usually uses 信仰 (xìnyǎng). 信念 focuses more on personal conviction or determination.

Is 信念 a verb like 相信?

No. 信念 is only a noun. To say you believe something, use 相信 (xiāngxìn), for example 我相信你 (Wǒ xiāngxìn nǐ), I believe you.