HanziGuru.信 · xìn
信
xìn[xin4]Tone 4

trust, letter, believe

HSK 2
Guru Deep Dive

English · trust, letter, believe

Cached lesson
1 / 1
Topology:Left-right
Strokes:9
Writing Balance Rule: The left component (亻) is narrower and compressed, while the right component (言) occupies the wider portion to maintain harmonious balance.
1. Meaning

to trust, to believe; letter, message

to profess faith intruthfulconfidenceat will, at random
Verb, NounNeutral#communication#mental state#emotions
Sample Usage
  • 我相信你。
    Wǒ xiāngxìn nǐ.
    I believe you.
  • 我今天收到了一封信。
    Wǒ jīntiān shōudào le yī fēng xìn.
    I received a letter today.
2. Sound
/[ɕin˥˩]/Tone: 51
信
xìnxin4
++
`(51)
=xìn
Initial Consonant
x
Type: Alveolo-Palatal Fricative
Sounds like: sh (alveolo-palatal sibilant)
Unaspirated
Airflow Tactile Test: Hissing friction with lips stretched wide in a smile.
Tongue & Mouth Position: Tongue tip resting behind lower front teeth, blade raised toward hard palate.
Final Rhyme
in
Vowel Group: -i vowel group
Sounds like: -in rhymes with 'in' in win
Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'een'.
Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.
Tone
T4 (51)
4th Tone (High-Falling)
Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 4 is a sharp, authoritative downward motion, identical to a commanding single-syllable refusal in English.
👂
Listening trap: Do not confuse 'xìn' with 'xīng' or 'xíng'. Pay attention to the nasal ending '-in' rather than '-ing'.
👋
Physical Tone Gesture: Tone 4 starts high and drops sharply like a decisive nod or an emphatic 'No!'
3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 9 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The left component (亻) is narrower and compressed, while the right component (言) occupies the wider portion to maintain harmonious balance.

4. Components

Radical 亻 · Person Radical (human, person)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 亻 (indicates human action or human quality (trusting, speaking))

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 言 (original sound: yán)

A person (亻) whose words (言) are trustworthy and reliable; a person standing by their word.

  • 亻 person
  • 言 words, speech
5. History
Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally combined '亻' (person) and '言' (words) to show that a person's words should be trusted, which later extended to mean a written message or letter carrying someone's words.

Semantic Evolution: From 'trustworthy words/keeping one's word' to 'confidence/belief', and extended to mean 'a letter' (something carrying words across distance).

  • In ancient times, letters were often called shū (书) or xìn (信), with xìn highlighting the reliability and delivery of the message.
6. Sinosphere
🇻🇳
Sino-Vietnamese
tín
Mandarin Tone 4 corresponds roughly to the Vietnamese sắc (rising) or nặng (heavy) tone depending on historical entering tones, here matching a sharp downward contour.
🇯🇵
Kanji (Japanese)
On: シン
🇰🇷
Hanja (Korean)
신
7. Memory
Vivid Mnemonic Story

A person (亻) speaks words (言) that carry weight, meaning you can always *trust* what is written in their *letter* (xìn).

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
言
yánspeech, wordsThe root component meaning words alone.
认
rènto recognizeUses the knife/sharp radical variation on the left combined with speech to recognize.
Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)
言(yán)
言 lacks the person radical (亻) on the left.
8. Mastery
Active Recall Challenge
我给朋友写了一封___。
Clue: xìn
Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the left-hand radical with other similar radicals like 彳 or forgetting the exact proportions of the complex right component 言.

Memory Prompts
Recognition: What does the character 信 mean when you see it in a sentence?
Production: How do you write the character for 'letter' or 'trust' pronounced xìn?
Real-World Video Context

Watch authentic native speakers pronounce and explain this word in real-world YouTube videos.

Search theme
Accent preference

Results are live YouTube search — accents and levels aren't verified.

信xìntrust, letter, believe
Speed:
Searching YouTube for native pronunciation videos...
0 / 0
Watch on YouTubeMore Results on YouTube