信

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See also: 㐰 and 伩
信 U+4FE1, 信
CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-4FE1
← 俠
[U+4FE0] 		CJK Unified Ideographs 俢 →
[U+4FE2]

Translingual[edit]

Stroke order
信-order.gif

Han character[edit]

信 (radical 9, 人+7, 9 strokes, cangjie input 人卜一口 (OYMR), four-corner 20261, composition ⿰亻言)

Derived characters[edit]

References[edit]

  • KangXi: page 105, character 25
  • Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 707
  • Dae Jaweon: page 224, character 2
  • Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 165, character 1
  • Unihan data for U+4FE1

Chinese[edit]

simp. and trad.
 信
alternative forms 㐰
伩 2nd‐round simp.

Glyph origin[edit]

Historical forms of the character 信
Small seal script
ACC-s01702.svg

s01702

ACC-s01703.svg

s01703

Transcribed ancient scripts
ACC-L36438.svg

L36438

ACC-L36439.svg

L36439

ACC-L36440.svg

L36440

ACC-L36441.svg

L36441

ACC-L36442.svg

L36442

ACC-L21999.svg

L21999

ACC-L22000.svg

L22000

ACC-L22001.svg

L22001

ACC-L22002.svg

L22002

ACC-L22003.svg

L22003

ACC-L22004.svg

L22004

ACC-L22005.svg

L22005

ACC-L22006.svg

L22006

ACC-L22007.svg

L22007

ACC-L22008.svg

L22008

ACC-L22009.svg

L22009

ACC-L22010.svg

L22010

ACC-L22011.svg

L22011

ACC-L22012.svg

L22012

ACC-L22013.svg

L22013

ACC-L22014.svg

L22014

ACC-L22015.svg

L22015

ACC-L22016.svg

L22016

ACC-L22017.svg

L22017

ACC-L22018.svg

L22018

ACC-L22019.svg

L22019

ACC-L22020.svg

L22020

ACC-L22021.svg

L22021

ACC-L22022.svg

L22022

ACC-L22023.svg

L22023

ACC-L22024.svg

L22024

References:

Mostly from Richard Sears' Chinese Etymology site (authorisation),
which in turn draws data from various collections of ancient forms of Chinese characters, including:

  • Shuowen Jiezi (small seal),
  • Jinwen Bian (bronze inscriptions),
  • Liushutong (Liushutong characters) and
  • Yinxu Jiaguwen Bian (oracle bone script).

Ideogrammic compound (會意): 人 (“person”) + 言 (“word”) – a person's (truthful) words.

Etymology 1[edit]

Schuessler (2007) reconstructs the Old Chinese minimally as *sin and suggests possible derivation from 允 (OC *winʔ, “to trust; to be true”).

Alternatively, Sagart and Baxter (2012) reconstruct *s-niŋ-s (*s-ni[ŋ]-s in Baxter and Sagart, 2014) and suggest a derivation from 仁 (OC *niŋ, “kind”) with the prefix *s-, probably used to increase its valency.

Pronunciation[edit]

Note: lhin1* - “letter”.
  • Dialectal data
Variety Location 信
Mandarin Beijing /ɕin⁵¹/
Harbin /ɕin⁵³/
Tianjin /ɕin⁵³/
Jinan /ɕiẽ²¹/
Qingdao /siə̃⁴²/
Zhengzhou /sin³¹²/
Xi'an /ɕiẽ⁴⁴/
Xining /ɕiə̃²¹³/
Yinchuan /ɕiŋ¹³/
Lanzhou /ɕĩn¹³/
Ürümqi /ɕiŋ²¹³/
Wuhan /ɕin³⁵/
Chengdu /ɕin¹³/
Guiyang /ɕin²¹³/
Kunming /ɕĩ²¹²/
Nanjing /sin⁴⁴/
Hefei /ɕin⁵³/
Jin Taiyuan /ɕiəŋ⁴⁵/
Pingyao /ɕiŋ³⁵/
Hohhot /ɕĩŋ⁵⁵/
Wu Shanghai /ɕiŋ³⁵/
Suzhou /sin⁵¹³/
Hangzhou /ɕin⁴⁴⁵/
Wenzhou /saŋ⁴²/
Hui Shexian /siʌ̃³²⁴/
Tunxi /sin⁴²/
Xiang Changsha /sin⁵⁵/
Xiangtan /sin⁵⁵/
Gan Nanchang /ɕin⁴⁵/
Hakka Meixian /sin⁵³/
Taoyuan /sin⁵⁵/
Cantonese Guangzhou /søn³³/
Nanning /ɬɐn³³/
Hong Kong /søn³³/
Min Xiamen (Min Nan) /sin²¹/
Fuzhou (Min Dong) /sɛiŋ²¹²/
Jian'ou (Min Bei) /seiŋ³³/
Shantou (Min Nan) /siŋ²¹³/
Haikou (Min Nan) /tin³⁵/
Rime
Character 信
Reading # 1/1
Initial (聲) 心 (16)
Final (韻) 眞 (43)
Tone (調) Departing (H)
Openness (開合) Open
Division (等) III
Fanqie 息晉切
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang
Shangfang 		/siɪnH/
Pan
Wuyun 		/sinH/
Shao
Rongfen 		/sjenH/
Edwin
Pulleyblank 		/sinH/
Li
Rong 		/siĕnH/
Wang
Li 		/sĭĕnH/
Bernard
Karlgren 		/si̯ĕnH/
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex 		xìn
Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character 信
Reading # 1/1
Modern
Beijing
(Pinyin) 		xìn
Middle
Chinese 		‹ sinH ›
Old
Chinese 		/*s-ni[ŋ]-s/
English truthful

Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system:

* Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence;
* Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p;
* Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix;
* Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary;

* Period "." indicates syllable boundary.
Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character 信
Reading # 1/1
No. 13849
Phonetic
component 		信
Rime
group 		眞
Rime
subdivision 		1
Corresponding
MC rime 		信
Old
Chinese 		/*hljins/
Notes 金文或從人從口，
本指操信符傳言之信使，
故表可信，或從言身聲

Definitions[edit]

信

  1. true; accurate; verifiable
  2. truly; indeed
  3. trustworthy
  4. to believe; to trust in something
    我才不信呢。  ―  Wǒ cái bù xìn ne.  ―  I don't believe it/you.
  5. trust; confidence; faith
    信任  ―  xìnrèn  ―  trust
    因信稱義 / 因信称义  ―  yīn xìn chēngyì  ―  to be justified by faith
  6. to believe in (a faith); to be religious in
    我父親信佛教。 / 我父亲信佛教。  ―  Wǒ fùqīn xìn fójiào.  ―  My father is a Buddhist. (lit. My father believes in Buddhism.)
  7. at will
    信口雌黃 / 信口雌黄  ―  xìnkǒu cíhuáng  ―  to make irresponsible remarks (lit. to correct someone with at will)
  8. letter (written communication) (Classifier: 封 m c mn)
  9. message; news; information
    信息  ―  xìnxī  ―  news, message
  10. evidence
    信物  ―  xìnwù  ―  token, keepsake
  11. courier; messenger
  12. (mineralogy) arsenolite
  13. A surname​: Xin
Synonyms[edit]
  • (true):
edit
  • (to believe):
edit
  • (to believe in a faith): 信仰 (xìnyǎng)
  • (letter):
edit
Synonyms of 信
Dialectal synonyms of 信 (“letter”) [map]
Variety Location Words
Formal (Written Standard Chinese) 書信, 信件, 信函, 書函, 書簡, 書牘, 書札
Mandarin Beijing 信
Taiwan 信
Jinan 信
Muping 信
Luoyang 信
Wanrong 信
Xi'an 信
Xining 信
Xuzhou 信
Yinchuan 信
Lanzhou 信
Ürümqi 信
Wuhan 信
Chengdu 信
Guiyang 信
Liuzhou 信
Yangzhou 信
Nanjing 信
Hefei 信
Singapore 信
Cantonese Guangzhou 信
Hong Kong 信
Foshan 信
Shunde 信
Zhongshan (Shiqi) 信
Doumen (Shangheng Tanka) 信
Taishan 信
Kaiping (Chikan) 信
Dongguan 信
Shaoguan 信
Yunfu 信
Yangjiang 信
Xinyi 信
Lianjiang 信
Gan Nanchang 信
Lichuan 信
Pingxiang 信
Hakka Meixian 信
Yudu 信
Miaoli (N. Sixian) 信仔
Liudui (S. Sixian) 信仔
Hsinchu (Hailu) 信仔
Dongshi (Dabu) 信
Hsinchu (Raoping) 信仔, 信
Yunlin (Zhao'an) 批, 信
Huizhou Jixi 信
Jin Taiyuan 信
Xinzhou 信
Min Bei Jian'ou 信
Min Dong Fuzhou 批
Matsu 批
Min Nan Xiamen 批
Quanzhou 批
Zhangzhou 批
Taipei 批
Kaohsiung 批
Tainan 批
Taichung 批
Hsinchu 批
Lukang 批
Sanxia 批
Yilan 批
Kinmen 批
Magong 批
Penang (Hokkien) 批
Singapore (Hokkien) 批
Philippines (Manila Hokkien) 批
Chaozhou 信, 批
Haikou 信
Leizhou 信
Puxian Min Putian 批
Xianyou 批
Pinghua Nanning (Tingzi) 信
Wu Shanghai 信
Suzhou 信
Wenzhou 信
Chongming 信
Danyang 信
Jinhua 信
Ningbo 信
Xiang Changsha 信
Shuangfeng 信
Loudi 信
  • (information):
edit
  • (evidence):
edit
Synonyms of 信

Compounds[edit]

Derived terms from 信

Etymology 2[edit]

Via 假借 (jiǎjiè) (borrowing)

Pronunciation[edit]

  • Dialectal data
Variety Location 信
Mandarin Beijing /ɕin⁵¹/
Harbin /ɕin⁵³/
Tianjin /ɕin⁵³/
Jinan /ɕiẽ²¹/
Qingdao /siə̃⁴²/
Zhengzhou /sin³¹²/
Xi'an /ɕiẽ⁴⁴/
Xining /ɕiə̃²¹³/
Yinchuan /ɕiŋ¹³/
Lanzhou /ɕĩn¹³/
Ürümqi /ɕiŋ²¹³/
Wuhan /ɕin³⁵/
Chengdu /ɕin¹³/
Guiyang /ɕin²¹³/
Kunming /ɕĩ²¹²/
Nanjing /sin⁴⁴/
Hefei /ɕin⁵³/
Jin Taiyuan /ɕiəŋ⁴⁵/
Pingyao /ɕiŋ³⁵/
Hohhot /ɕĩŋ⁵⁵/
Wu Shanghai /ɕiŋ³⁵/
Suzhou /sin⁵¹³/
Hangzhou /ɕin⁴⁴⁵/
Wenzhou /saŋ⁴²/
Hui Shexian /siʌ̃³²⁴/
Tunxi /sin⁴²/
Xiang Changsha /sin⁵⁵/
Xiangtan /sin⁵⁵/
Gan Nanchang /ɕin⁴⁵/
Hakka Meixian /sin⁵³/
Taoyuan /sin⁵⁵/
Cantonese Guangzhou /søn³³/
Nanning /ɬɐn³³/
Hong Kong /søn³³/
Min Xiamen (Min Nan) /sin²¹/
Fuzhou (Min Dong) /sɛiŋ²¹²/
Jian'ou (Min Bei) /seiŋ³³/
Shantou (Min Nan) /siŋ²¹³/
Haikou (Min Nan) /tin³⁵/

Definitions[edit]

信

  1. Alternative form of 申 (shēn, “to express; to state”).
    《春秋》貴義而不貴惠，信道而不信邪。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
    《春秋》贵义而不贵惠，信道而不信邪。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
    From: Commentary of Guliang, circa 206 BCE– 9 CE
    “Chūnqiū” guì yì ér bù guì huì, shēn dào ér bù shēn xié. [Pinyin]
    The Spring and Autumn Annals treasure deeds of righteousness rather than the dispensation of favour, and advocate the just principles instead of corrupt ways.
  2. Alternative form of 伸 (shēn, “to extend”).
    尺蠖之屈，以求信也。 [Classical Chinese, trad. and simp.]
    From: I Ching, 3rd – 2nd millennia BCE
    Chǐhuò zhī qū, yǐ qiú shēn yě. [Pinyin]
    An inchworm contracts, so that it may extend.

Japanese[edit]

Kanji[edit]

信

(grade 4 “Kyōiku” kanji)

Readings[edit]

Compounds[edit]

Compounds

Noun[edit]

信(しん) • (shin) 

  1. trust, faith
    信(しん)を置(お)く、信(しん)を得(え)る
    shin o oku, shin o eru
    to put one's trust (in something), to gain someone's trust

Related terms[edit]

Korean[edit]

Hanja[edit]

信 (eumhun 믿을 신 (mideul sin))

  1. Hanja form? of 신 (“believe/trust”).

Vietnamese[edit]

Han character[edit]

信: Hán Nôm readings: tín, tin

  1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

References[edit]

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