将信将疑
jiāng xìn jiāng yí
half believing, half doubting
Character by character
将jiāng
partly
partly
信xìn
believe
believe
将jiāng
partly
partly
疑yí
doubt
doubt
Example
听说转发锦鲤能带来好运，她将信将疑地转了一条。
Told that reposting a koi brings good luck, she reposted one, not quite sure whether to believe it.
Tone: neutral.
Usage and origin
将…将… is a classical “partly…, partly…”. The phrase comes from 李华’s Tang essay 《吊古战场文》: families who hear news of their men at the front 将信将疑. It means the same as 半信半疑 (lesson 8-5) but sounds a little more literary; both often go before 地 and a verb.
Learn this in Lesson 249 · HSK 9+: i人还是e人 (Introvert or extrovert?)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
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