信 (xìn) is a Chinese character meaning “to believe”. It is written from 亻 (person (the form 人 takes on the left)) and 言 (speech; words; to say), side by side, and takes 9 strokes.
Build the character for “to trust”
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Structure
亻 + 言
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字：信，誠也。从人从言；现代字形对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验（亻2画 + 言7画 = 9画）
Memory aid
A person (亻) standing next to their own words (言). Someone who stands behind what they say is someone you can trust.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 相信xiāng xìnto believe; to trust信 = xìnHSK 2
- 信心xìn xīnconfidence; faith信 = xìnHSK 3
- 信仰xìn yǎngfaith; belief; conviction信 = xìn
- 信号xìn hàosignal信 = xìn
- 信函xìn hánletter; correspondence信 = xìn
- 信封xìn fēngenvelope信 = xìn
- 信息xìn xīinformation; message信 = xìn
- 信贷xìn dàicredit; lending信 = xìn
- 寄信jì xìnto send a letter; to mail a letter信 = xìn
- 捎信shāo xìnto take a message or letter for someone信 = xìn
Go deeper
All readings
to trust; letter
to believe; to trust; trust, confidence; a letter (written message)
相信；信任。也指书信。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 相信xiāng xìnto believe; to trust信 = xìnHSK 2
- 信心xìn xīnconfidence; faith信 = xìnHSK 3
- 信仰xìn yǎngfaith; belief; conviction信 = xìn
- 信号xìn hàosignal信 = xìn
- 信函xìn hánletter; correspondence信 = xìn
- 信封xìn fēngenvelope信 = xìn
- 信息xìn xīinformation; message信 = xìn
- 信贷xìn dàicredit; lending信 = xìn
- 寄信jì xìnto send a letter; to mail a letter信 = xìn
- 捎信shāo xìnto take a message or letter for someone信 = xìn
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 信 mean?
信 (xìn) means to believe; to trust; trust, confidence; a letter (written message).
How do you pronounce 信?
It is pronounced xìn.
What parts is 信 made of?
亻 (person (the form 人 takes on the left)) and 言 (speech; words; to say), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字：信，誠也。从人从言；现代字形对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验（亻2画 + 言7画 = 9画）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 信 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 信?
人. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 信?
Common ones are 相信 and 信心. The reading of 信 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.