<p>I'm not a native Chinese speaker but I've always used 相信 to mean believe (related to truth/falsity) and 信任 to mean trust/confidence (related to success/failure).</p>
<p>我相信你 I believe you. I believe what you just said. I think you are telling the truth. I don't think you are lying.</p>
<p>我信任你 I trust you. I trust in your ability. I have faith in you. You won't let me or yourself down. I am confident that you will succeed. I am confident that you will not fail.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-06-21T19:26:29.693Z
2020-07-01T13:18:25.260Z
2020-07-01T13:18:25.260Z
Kantura
<p>The book 1700对近义词语用法对比 (item 1358, pages <a href="https://i.sstatic.net/Yf5xj.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer">1256</a> and <a href="https://i.sstatic.net/v5KQH.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer">1257</a>) compares these two words.  They write:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“信任”和“相信”都是动词。“信任”的对象是人（或单位、组织等由人组成的团体），信任某人，表示认为他人品好、有办事能力，因而让他去负责某事；“相信”的对象可以是人，也可以是事，相信某人，表示对某人了解，对他说的话或做的事不怀疑，相信某事，即认为它是真实的。</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Here they emphasize that 信任 only applies to other people (or organizations etc. created by people), believing that person's character is good, whereas <strong>相信 (unlike 信任) can apply to people's speech, and other matters that you trust are true</strong>.</p>
<p>Their example sentences:</p>
<blockquote>
<ol>
<li>公司领导很 <strong>[相信 / 信任]</strong> 他，最近让他当了一个部门的经理。</li>
<li>既然用他就应该 <strong>[相信 / 信任]</strong> 他，用人不疑嘛。</li>
<li>我不 <strong>[相信]</strong> 他说的话。</li>
<li>你这么努力，我 <strong>[相信]</strong> 你一定能学好汉语。</li>
<li>我 <strong>[相信]</strong> 这件事是真的。</li>
</ol>
</blockquote>
<p>They also highlight how <strong>the object of 信任 cannot be the subject</strong> (unlike 相信).  More specifically they write:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“相信”的对象可以是自己，“信任”的对象不能是自己。<br />
相信's object can be oneself, 信任's object cannot be oneself.  [my translation]</p>
</blockquote>
<p>giving the example</p>
<blockquote>
<p>我 <strong>[相信]</strong> 自己的判断是正确的。</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-06-22T02:16:53.557Z
我最信任的就是自己 -  the person I  trust  the most is myself
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-06-22T02:20:54.757Z
Curious.  Would you say the book is wrong?  (It seems like a reliable source; it's published by 北京语言大学出版社.)  Or maybe this is a particular phrasing where it works.
Becky 李蓓
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-06-22T02:33:46.597Z
In my example, 'myself' is treated as a third person. It is like Tang Ho says: "The person Tang Ho trusts the most is Tang Ho" . 我信任我 ( I trust  I )  or 我相信我  (I believe I ) would be wrong
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-06-22T02:37:22.893Z
Yes, I believe the book is wrong to say you cannot "信任 yourself"
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-06-22T02:41:13.517Z
I wonder what @dan has to say about this? :)
Wayne Cheah
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-06-22T03:00:04.863Z
The book should say; "我相信 / 信任 的对象可以是我自己" ,  "我相信 / 信任 的对象不能是我"
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-06-22T03:03:01.933Z
我最信任的就是自己 -- "'myself' is treated as a third person" I believe for this to work, 人 has to be added?, as in 我最信任的人就是自己 because in English you still need to say  "the person I trust the most is myself" and not  "...I trust the most is myself" I might be wrong of course.
Wayne Cheah
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-06-22T03:04:17.573Z
人 in 最信任的人 can be omitted in Chinese. When you have 自己 in the sentence, you can clearly understand (?) in 最信任的(?) is obviously a person
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-06-22T03:15:54.187Z
@Becky 李蓓 I believe the book was trying to say "subject itself cannot be the object to be trusted e.g. 我信任我. but 'subject **itself**' can be treated as an object
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-06-22T03:21:43.223Z
Ah thanks.  It looks like I translated it inaccurately.
Becky 李蓓
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-06-22T04:46:17.360Z
the object in "我 [相信] 我的判断是正确的。" is not "我" , but "我的判断" the rule of subject can't be the object to be trusted applies to  相信 (believe) too .-- subject can't be the object to be believed (but 'subject itself' -- 自己 can). 我 [相信] 自己 is as valid as 我[信任]自己
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-06-22T11:26:33.180Z
@WayneCheah lol! In Chinese, people don't usually say 我信任我自己 (though there seems to be no grammar mistakes in it). The reason is probably that no one really 不信任自己. How come a person could lie to himself literally? 我相信我自己 is used often. It connotes that I believe myself that I can do/achieve something. As for 我最信任的就是我自己，when people say this, I suppose he means he doesn't trust anyone (but himself).
dan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-06-22T11:35:55.297Z
@WayneCheah I think 我最信任的(人)就是我自己 is different from 我信任我自己 in terms of sentence structure.
dan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-06-22T11:51:29.073Z
@dan. Thanks for responding. "As for 我最信任的就是我自己...I suppose he means he doesn't trust anyone (but himself)" Wouldn't the 最 denotes he trust others as well, but rather trust himself the most? I believe the confusion stems from equating, non-contextually, 相信 with he English "believe", and 信任 with "trust" because there is nothing wrong, in English, to say "I trust myself",  "我信任我自己" or "I don't trust myself", (我 不信任自己) This goes beyond grammar or language usage, but the socio-cultural thinking processes of two different civilizations which is reflected in their idiosyncratic language structure.
Wayne Cheah
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-06-22T12:12:06.937Z
@WayneCheah In Chinese, 我最信任的就是我自己 is more to emphasize.  The implication is that he doesn't trust others as much as himself, in other words, he wouldn't fully trust anyone else.  Probably 信任 and "trust" are not always equivalent words.  In Chinese, you could also say 我信任我自己, but the sentence sounds meaningless because we are all assumed to 信任自己 by nature.  "I trust myself" in English could probably be turned to 我相信我自己 in some context imo.
dan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-06-22T12:28:10.977Z
@dan. Quote:- "...we are all assumed to 信任自己 by nature" Well, that's what I meant by different ".. socio-cultural thinking processes" because another civilization may not readily assume that and thus the language caters for it. Anyway, I believe we have dwell on the subject long enough and I trust that everyone here will do their civic duty to combat Covid-19. Thanks again for your replies.
Wayne Cheah
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-06-22T12:40:32.413Z
@WayneCheah It could be the socio-cultural thing. What I'd like to point out is that it could also because there is a difference between the two words "信任" and "trust" in deep-level connotation which we are not aware of. By far, both are possible unless someone could elaborate the two words gracefully and show us those very subtle nuances.
dan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-06-22T12:46:21.487Z
@dan. "...there is a difference between the two words "信任" and "trust" in deep-level connotation...." This I agree.
Wayne Cheah
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-06-22T12:49:17.663Z
@WayneCheah For example, I wouldn't assume "I trust myself", but "我信任我自己". In Chinese, we'd think 我自己有什么好信任的？我就是我自己嘛，我只能去信任别人。
dan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-06-22T00:17:23.070Z
2020-06-22T03:20:35.603Z
2020-06-22T03:20:35.603Z
Becky 李蓓
<p>While 信任 can only be used for a person (or a group of people), 相信 can be used for both a person or a non-person object. I will here discuss what's the difference when used for a person.</p>
<p>信任 focuses on describing the characteristic of the person. When you say &quot;我信任小张&quot;, that means 小张 has your endorsement to be a trustworthy/capable person.</p>
<p>When you say 我相信小张, it means you believe in 小张. It focuses on your action of believing instead of on the personality/ability of 小张.</p>
<p>You may tend to use 信任 over 相信 if your relationship with 小张 is close. However, even with this said, the two sentences above are describing almost the same situation.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-21T15:39:17.937Z
2020-07-21T16:58:49.540Z
2020-07-21T16:58:49.540Z
River
<p>「相信」这一词指的是对某件具体的事情，「信任」指的是对某一个人</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-26T14:51:20.083Z
You can say "I believe in you": 我相信你.
Firmin Martin
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-01T21:19:01.313Z
2020-07-02T09:26:10.300Z
2020-07-02T09:26:10.300Z
芸香科橙子同学
<p>How is the usage of 信任 and 相信 different ？ According to my understanding the scope of 信任 is more than the scope of 相信 . For example if we are talking about a person or a few people , we might say 我相信你 but for countries we might use it as 美国信任韩国. Is that correct or are there other usages ?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-06-21T23:42:42.453Z
People cannot use 信任 to show that they trust a situation. 我信任地球是圓的 is not correct.
000
<word-choice><usage><difference>
Trust/Believe : “信任” vs “相信”
# Trust/Believe : “信任” vs “相信”

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-06-21)

How is the usage of 信任 and 相信 different ？ According to my understanding the scope of 信任 is more than the scope of 相信 . For example if we are talking about a person or a few people , we might say 我相信你 but for countries we might use it as 美国信任韩国. Is that correct or are there other usages ?

**Tags:** word-choice, usage, difference

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: People cannot use 信任 to show that they trust a situation. 我信任地球是圓的 is not correct.  

---

## 4 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2020-06-21. Score: 3

I'm not a native Chinese speaker but I've always used 相信 to mean believe (related to truth/falsity) and 信任 to mean trust/confidence (related to success/failure).

我相信你 I believe you. I believe what you just said. I think you are telling the truth. I don't think you are lying.

我信任你 I trust you. I trust in your ability. I have faith in you. You won't let me or yourself down. I am confident that you will succeed. I am confident that you will not fail.


---

### Answer by username_3 on 2020-06-22. Score: 3

The book 1700对近义词语用法对比 (item 1358, pages [1256](https://i.sstatic.net/Yf5xj.png) and [1257](https://i.sstatic.net/v5KQH.png)) compares these two words. They write:

> “信任”和“相信”都是动词。“信任”的对象是人（或单位、组织等由人组成的团体），信任某人，表示认为他人品好、有办事能力，因而让他去负责某事；“相信”的对象可以是人，也可以是事，相信某人，表示对某人了解，对他说的话或做的事不怀疑，相信某事，即认为它是真实的。

Here they emphasize that 信任 only applies to other people (or organizations etc. created by people), believing that person's character is good, whereas **相信 (unlike 信任) can apply to people's speech, and other matters that you trust are true**.

Their example sentences:

> 1. 公司领导很 **[相信 / 信任]** 他，最近让他当了一个部门的经理。
> 2. 既然用他就应该 **[相信 / 信任]** 他，用人不疑嘛。
> 3. 我不 **[相信]** 他说的话。
> 4. 你这么努力，我 **[相信]** 你一定能学好汉语。
> 5. 我 **[相信]** 这件事是真的。

They also highlight how **the object of 信任 cannot be the subject** (unlike 相信). More specifically they write:

> “相信”的对象可以是自己，“信任”的对象不能是自己。  
> 相信's object can be oneself, 信任's object cannot be oneself. [my translation]

giving the example

> 我 **[相信]** 自己的判断是正确的。

> **Comments:**
> **username_4**: 我最信任的就是自己 -  the person I  trust  the most is myself  
> **username_3**: Curious.  Would you say the book is wrong?  (It seems like a reliable source; it's published by 北京语言大学出版社.)  Or maybe this is a particular phrasing where it works.  
> **username_4**: In my example, 'myself' is treated as a third person. It is like username_4 says: "The person username_4 trusts the most is username_4" . 我信任我 ( I trust  I )  or 我相信我  (I believe I ) would be wrong  
> **username_4**: Yes, I believe the book is wrong to say you cannot "信任 yourself"  
> **username_5**: I wonder what @username_6 has to say about this? :)  
> **username_4**: The book should say; "我相信 / 信任 的对象可以是我自己" ,  "我相信 / 信任 的对象不能是我"  
> **username_5**: 我最信任的就是自己 -- "'myself' is treated as a third person" I believe for this to work, 人 has to be added?, as in 我最信任的人就是自己 because in English you still need to say  "the person I trust the most is myself" and not  "...I trust the most is myself" I might be wrong of course.  
> **username_4**: 人 in 最信任的人 can be omitted in Chinese. When you have 自己 in the sentence, you can clearly understand (?) in 最信任的(?) is obviously a person  
> **username_4**: @username_3 I believe the book was trying to say "subject itself cannot be the object to be trusted e.g. 我信任我. but 'subject **itself**' can be treated as an object  
> **username_3**: Ah thanks.  It looks like I translated it inaccurately.  
> **username_4**: the object in "我 [相信] 我的判断是正确的。" is not "我" , but "我的判断" the rule of subject can't be the object to be trusted applies to  相信 (believe) too .-- subject can't be the object to be believed (but 'subject itself' -- 自己 can). 我 [相信] 自己 is as valid as 我[信任]自己  
> **username_6**: @WayneCheah lol! In Chinese, people don't usually say 我信任我自己 (though there seems to be no grammar mistakes in it). The reason is probably that no one really 不信任自己. How come a person could lie to himself literally? 我相信我自己 is used often. It connotes that I believe myself that I can do/achieve something. As for 我最信任的就是我自己，when people say this, I suppose he means he doesn't trust anyone (but himself).  
> **username_6**: @WayneCheah I think 我最信任的(人)就是我自己 is different from 我信任我自己 in terms of sentence structure.  
> **username_5**: @username_6. Thanks for responding. "As for 我最信任的就是我自己...I suppose he means he doesn't trust anyone (but himself)" Wouldn't the 最 denotes he trust others as well, but rather trust himself the most? I believe the confusion stems from equating, non-contextually, 相信 with he English "believe", and 信任 with "trust" because there is nothing wrong, in English, to say "I trust myself",  "我信任我自己" or "I don't trust myself", (我 不信任自己) This goes beyond grammar or language usage, but the socio-cultural thinking processes of two different civilizations which is reflected in their idiosyncratic language structure.  
> **username_6**: @WayneCheah In Chinese, 我最信任的就是我自己 is more to emphasize.  The implication is that he doesn't trust others as much as himself, in other words, he wouldn't fully trust anyone else.  Probably 信任 and "trust" are not always equivalent words.  In Chinese, you could also say 我信任我自己, but the sentence sounds meaningless because we are all assumed to 信任自己 by nature.  "I trust myself" in English could probably be turned to 我相信我自己 in some context imo.  
> **username_5**: @username_6. Quote:- "...we are all assumed to 信任自己 by nature" Well, that's what I meant by different ".. socio-cultural thinking processes" because another civilization may not readily assume that and thus the language caters for it. Anyway, I believe we have dwell on the subject long enough and I trust that everyone here will do their civic duty to combat Covid-19. Thanks again for your replies.  
> **username_6**: @WayneCheah It could be the socio-cultural thing. What I'd like to point out is that it could also because there is a difference between the two words "信任" and "trust" in deep-level connotation which we are not aware of. By far, both are possible unless someone could elaborate the two words gracefully and show us those very subtle nuances.  
> **username_5**: @username_6. "...there is a difference between the two words "信任" and "trust" in deep-level connotation...." This I agree.  
> **username_6**: @WayneCheah For example, I wouldn't assume "I trust myself", but "我信任我自己". In Chinese, we'd think 我自己有什么好信任的？我就是我自己嘛，我只能去信任别人。  

---

### Answer by username_7 on 2020-07-21. Score: 1

While 信任 can only be used for a person (or a group of people), 相信 can be used for both a person or a non-person object. I will here discuss what's the difference when used for a person.

信任 focuses on describing the characteristic of the person. When you say "我信任小张", that means 小张 has your endorsement to be a trustworthy/capable person.

When you say 我相信小张, it means you believe in 小张. It focuses on your action of believing instead of on the personality/ability of 小张.

You may tend to use 信任 over 相信 if your relationship with 小张 is close. However, even with this said, the two sentences above are describing almost the same situation.


---

### Answer by username_8 on 2020-07-01. Score: -1

「相信」这一词指的是对某件具体的事情，「信任」指的是对某一个人

> **Comments:**
> **username_9**: You can say "I believe in you": 我相信你.  

---

