Chinese word

怀疑

Pronunciation

Pinyinhuái yí

Meaning

  • verbdoubt

Example

我不怀疑你说的话。wǒ bù huái yí nǐ shuō de huà

I don't doubt what you say.

Illustration for 怀疑 (doubt)

More examples

听到那个消息后，他开始怀疑报告的真实性。tīng dào nà ge xiāo xī hòu tā kāi shǐ huái yí bào gào de zhēn shí xìng

After hearing that news, he began to doubt the report's authenticity.

Core concept

A mind keeps a question open instead of fully accepting a person, claim, or possibility.

Common phrases

  • 怀疑他的动机huái yí tā de dòng jī

    doubt his motives

  • 怀疑这件事huái yí zhè jiàn shì

    doubt this matter

  • 越来越怀疑yuè lái yuè huái yí

    become increasingly doubtful

Similar words

质疑zhì yí: To question a stated view or fact and ask for an explanation or supporting evidence.
猜疑cāi yí: To distrust someone's words or actions and suspect that something is wrong.
不信任bú xìn rèn: To feel that someone cannot be trusted.

Definition in Chinese

对某事持保留态度，心里认为该事可能不成立或不可信。duì mǒu shì chí bǎo liú tài dù xīn lǐ rèn wéi gāi shì kě néng bù chéng lì huò bù kě xìn

Word origin

怀疑 (huáiyí, "doubt") combines 怀 (huái, "hold in the heart") + 疑 (yí, "question or doubt"), giving the image of holding a question inward rather than accepting something as true.

Usage tips

  • In Chinese, the object after this verb can be a person as well as a statement, so the sentence may question someone's reliability rather than only the truth of an idea.

Other meanings

  • uncertaintynoun
  • suspicionnoun

Opposites

Related words

  • 怀疑主义huái yí zhǔ yìskepticismnoun

Word lists with this word