信
Meanings
Refers to integrity, good faith, or faithfulness to another person or promise. As a standalone noun, 信 is formal and often appears in set or elevated phrasing.
In business, integrity comes first.
He remained faithful to his friend to the end.
Used for the trust or confidence placed in a person, government, statement, judgment, and similar things. Common collocations include 信を置く, 信を得る, and 信を失う.
The government lost the people's trust.
I have confidence in his judgment.
religious faith; devotion
Religious use meaning faith or devotion toward a deity, Buddha, doctrine, or religious path. In everyday modern Japanese, 信仰 or 信心 is often more explicit.
Through religious practice, he deepened his faith in the Buddha.
counter for received messages
Rare counter use for received messages such as telegrams or correspondence. It is much less ordinary than counters such as 通 in modern Japanese.
In old records, you may see counting such as 'receive one telegram.'
Usage patterns
- 信を得るto gain someone's trust or confidence
He earned his clients' trust through his sincere work.
- 信を失うto lose someone's trust or confidence
That remark cost him the public's trust.
Expressions· 9
- 信を問うappeal to someone's trust; question someone's credibility
- 信を置くput one's trust in; trust
- 信用できるtrustworthy; credible; believable
- 一対一の通信one-to-one communication
- 信頼のおけるreliable; trustworthy; authentic
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- 威信にかかわるaffect one's prestige; be beneath one's dignity
- 信は荘厳より起こるfunction follows form; the outside shapes the inside
- 知らんがために我は信ずI believe in order to understand; credo ut intelligam