Meaning of 信用
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- trustworthiness
- (commerce) credit
- (literary) to trust and appoint
How to use 信用
信用 is used for a person's or company's reliability, and very often for financial credit, as in 信用卡 (xìnyòngkǎ) credit card. People often say someone 讲信用 (jiǎng xìnyòng) or 有信用 (yǒu xìnyòng), meaning they keep their promises. Example: 他很讲信用。(Tā hěn jiǎng xìnyòng.) He keeps his word.
信 (xìn) means to trust or believe, and 用 (yòng) means to use. Credit is the trust others can put to use: if people trust your word, they will lend to you.
Common mistake: Learners often use 信用 when they mean 信任 (xìnrèn), to trust someone. 我信用你 is wrong; say 我信任你 (wǒ xìnrèn nǐ) or 我相信你 (wǒ xiāngxìn nǐ). 信用 is normally a noun for reliability or credit, not an everyday verb.
信用 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
信 xìn · letter · 9 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
用 yòng · to use · 5 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
Related words
Words that share a character with 信用.
| 不用 | bùyòng | need not |
| 有用 | yǒuyòng | useful |
| 相信 | xiāngxìn | to believe; to be convinced; to accept as true |
| 使用 | shǐyòng | to use; to employ |
| 信息 | xìnxī | information; news; message |
| 信号 | xìnhào | signal |
| 作用 | zuòyòng | to act on; to affect; action; function; activity |
| 信心 | xìnxīn | confidence; faith (in sb or sth) |
| 短信 | duǎnxìn | text message; SMS |
| 信用卡 | xìnyòngkǎ | credit card |
| 常用 | cháng yòng | in common usage |
| 信任 | xìnrèn | to trust; to have confidence in |
Questions about 信用
What does 信用 mean?
信用 (xìnyòng) means "trustworthiness; (commerce) credit" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 信用?
信用 is made of 2 characters: 信 (9 strokes), 用 (5 strokes). That is 14 strokes in total.
Is 信用 an HSK word?
Yes. 信用 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 信用 and 信誉?
Both relate to trustworthiness. 信用 is about whether you keep promises and pay debts, and it is the word used for credit. 信誉 (xìnyù) means reputation, and it is used more for businesses and brands.
How do you say someone broke their word using 信用?
You can say 不讲信用 (bù jiǎng xìnyòng), doesn't keep their word, or 失去信用 (shīqù xìnyòng), to lose one's credibility. For financial records, 信用记录 (xìnyòng jìlù) means credit history.