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(xìn yǎng) - faith, belief, conviction in Mandarin

xìnyǎng

Traditional: 信仰

#2041 of 5,000 Core 5000

Translation

faith, belief, conviction

Word origin

A compound of 信 (xìn, to believe, to trust) and 仰 (yǎng, to look up to), so a belief one looks up to.

Origin
compound
Root
信 (xìn, to believe) + 仰 (yǎng, to look up to)

Stroke order

Stroke order for 信

Stroke order for 仰

Examples

Everyone has their own beliefs.

He has no religious faith.

We should respect other people's beliefs.

That was the conviction of his whole life.

yáo

The war did not shake her faith.

信仰 (xìnyǎng) is faith of the deep, life-organising kind: religion, political conviction, a principle someone would not trade away. It is a noun first and a verb second, and it belongs to serious or formal register.

Do not use it for ordinary believing. "I believe you" is 我相信你 (wǒ xiāngxìn nǐ); "I think it will rain" is 我觉得 (wǒ juéde). Reserve 信仰 for the things a person builds a life around.

For saying you follow a particular religion, the natural verb is plain 信: 他信佛 (tā xìn Fó, he is a Buddhist), 她信基督教 (tā xìn Jīdūjiào, she is a Christian). 信仰 then names the thing itself: 宗教信仰 (zōngjiào xìnyǎng, religious faith).

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Mandarin · Free printables

信仰: worksheet, infographic and listicle

Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "信仰" (faith, belief, conviction): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.

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This word is part of lesson 41.