相信 (xiāngxìn) is the verb for believing and trusting — believing that something is true, and trusting a person to be honest. Its power for English speakers is how directly it attaches its object: a person (我相信你), or an entire clause with no linking word (我相信他会成功). There is no "that." The clause simply follows. Alongside it sits the compact 信 (xìn), which does the same job in fewer strokes but carries extra baggage: religious faith, and — surprisingly — the noun "letter."
相信 + person, 相信 + clause
相信 takes two kinds of object with no change in form. Follow it with a person and it means "trust / have faith in" them. Follow it with a clause and it means "believe that [clause]" — and this is the pattern to burn in: the embedded clause attaches directly, with no "that." This is the same clause-swallowing behavior you see in 认为 and 觉得, so once you have one, you have all three.
我相信你，你不会骗我的。
wǒ xiāngxìn nǐ, nǐ bú huì piàn wǒ de
I trust you — you wouldn't lie to me. (informal) — 相信 + person.
我相信他一定会成功。
wǒ xiāngxìn tā yídìng huì chénggōng
I believe he'll definitely succeed. (neutral) — 相信 + clause, no 'that'.
你相信有外星人吗？
nǐ xiāngxìn yǒu wàixīngrén ma?
Do you believe there are aliens? (informal) — 相信 + existential clause.
信 — the terse cousin (belief, faith, and "letter")
信 on its own also means "believe/trust," but it's terser and more idiomatic — punchy in short retorts and fixed phrases like 信不信由你 ("believe it or not"). Beyond belief, 信 carries two meanings 相信 does not: religious faith (信佛 "be a Buddhist," 信教 "be religious"), and the everyday noun "letter" (一封信). So when you meet a bare 信, check whether it's the verb "believe," the verb "follow a religion," or the noun "a letter."
信不信由你，反正我是不信。
xìn bu xìn yóu nǐ, fǎnzhèng wǒ shì bú xìn
Believe it or not, I don't buy it anyway. (informal) — idiomatic 信.
别信他，他在骗你。
bié xìn tā, tā zài piàn nǐ
Don't believe him — he's tricking you. (informal) — terse 信 in a warning.
我奶奶信佛。
wǒ nǎinai xìn Fó
My grandma is a Buddhist. (neutral) — 信 = have religious faith.
今天我收到了一封你的信。
jīntiān wǒ shōudào le yì fēng nǐ de xìn
I got a letter from you today. (neutral) — 信 here is the noun 'letter'.
相信 vs 信任 — believe a claim vs trust a person's reliability
A near-neighbor worth separating: 信任 (xìnrèn), "trust / have confidence in." Where 相信 is about accepting that something is true, 信任 is about relying on a person's dependability — the kind of trust you place in a colleague, a doctor, a system. In formal or workplace contexts 信任 is the precise choice.
团队之间需要互相信任。
tuánduì zhījiān xūyào hùxiāng xìnrèn
A team needs mutual trust. (formal) — 信任 = reliance/confidence.
| Verb | Meaning | Takes | Register / note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 相信 (xiāngxìn) | believe (a claim) / trust | person OR clause | neutral, the safe default |
| 信 (xìn) | believe; follow a religion; (noun) letter | person / clause / religion | terse, idiomatic; also a noun |
| 信任 (xìnrèn) | trust, rely on (dependability) | a person / institution | fuller, formal |
| 认为 / 觉得 | think, hold the opinion | clause | tentative opinion, not conviction |
相信 vs 觉得 — conviction vs tentative opinion
Learners often reach for 觉得 (juéde, "feel/think") when they mean firm belief. But 觉得 flags a tentative impression, while 相信 signals conviction. Compare them in one breath:
我觉得他会来，但我不敢完全相信。
wǒ juéde tā huì lái, dàn wǒ bù gǎn wánquán xiāngxìn
I think he'll come, but I don't dare fully believe it. (neutral) — 觉得 hedges, 相信 commits.
Common Mistakes
1. Inserting a word for "that." The clause attaches to 相信 directly — no 那, no 是.
❌ 我相信那明天会下雨。
Incorrect — 那 here wrongly translates 'that'; the clause attaches directly.
✅ 我相信明天会下雨。
wǒ xiāngxìn míngtiān huì xià yǔ
I believe it'll rain tomorrow. — clause bolted straight onto 相信.
2. Using 相信 where the meaning is 'rely on someone's dependability.' For trusting a person's reliability (especially formal), 信任 is sharper than 相信.
❌ 老板不相信这个新员工的能力。
Marginal — for confidence in someone's competence/reliability, use 信任.
✅ 老板不太信任这个新员工。
lǎobǎn bú tài xìnrèn zhège xīn yuángōng
The boss doesn't quite trust this new employee. — 信任 for reliance.
3. Reaching for 觉得 to express firm belief. 觉得 is a soft opinion; conviction is 相信.
❌ 我觉得你，你不会骗我。
Incorrect — 觉得 can't take a bare person, and it's too tentative for trust; use 相信.
✅ 我相信你，你不会骗我。
wǒ xiāngxìn nǐ, nǐ bú huì piàn wǒ
I trust you, you wouldn't lie to me. — 相信 for conviction.
4. Assuming a bare 信 always means "believe." In 写信 / 一封信 the same character is the noun "letter."
❌ 我给你写信 = 'I write to believe you.'
Mistranslation — 写信 means 'write a letter'; 信 here is the noun.
✅ 我给你写信。
wǒ gěi nǐ xiě xìn
I'll write you a letter. — 信 = letter, not 'believe'.
Key Takeaways
- 相信 = believe/trust; it takes a person (我相信你) or a whole clause (我相信他会成功) — no "that."
- 信 does the same job more tersely and idiomatically (信不信由你), and also means religious faith (信佛) and the noun letter (一封信).
- 信任 is trust as reliance on dependability — the formal, workplace choice.
- 相信 is conviction; 觉得 is a tentative opinion — don't swap them.
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- 认为 vs 以为 (Consider vs Mistakenly Thought)HSK 3 — 认为 (rènwéi) is a firm, considered 'hold the view that,' at home in formal opinion. 以为 (yǐwéi) means you thought something that turned out WRONG — 我以为今天是星期天 ('I thought today was Sunday… but it isn't'). The built-in 'but I was mistaken' is the whole point of 以为.
- 觉得 (juéde): Think / Feel ThatHSK 1 — 觉得 is the soft, everyday 'I think / I feel' — it takes a whole clause with no 'that' word (我觉得这个电影很好), and covers both opinions and physical sensations (我觉得有点儿累). The default, lowest-commitment way to give your view.
- Psych Verbs (怕, 担心, 害怕, 希望, 高兴)HSK 3 — Verbs of feeling — 怕, 担心, 喜欢, 高兴, 感动 — straddle verb and adjective: they take a degree word like 很 the way adjectives do, yet still take objects and whole clauses like verbs.