HSK 4 · Verbs

以为 yǐwéi “to think (wrongly)” in Chinese

Traditional 以為

What 以为 means

  1. to think (wrongly)
  2. to assume
  3. to think
  4. to believe (often with the implication that the belief is mistaken – unless referring to one’s own current belief)

How to say 以为

  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale以yǐ3rd tone, dipping
  • Pitch chart of the second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale为wéi2nd tone, rising

以为 in a sentence

  1. 我以为你知道。

    Wǒ yǐwéi nǐ zhīdao.

    I thought you knew.

    Sentence #3213056 from Tatoeba

  2. 她以为我是大夫。

    Tā yǐwéi wǒ shì dàifu.

    She thought I was a doctor.

    Sentence #782174 from Tatoeba

  3. 我还以为我在做梦呢。

    Wǒ hái yǐwéi wǒ zài zuòmèng ne.

    I thought I was dreaming!

    Sentence #2033412 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 以为 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 以 (yǐ) drawn as one shape
以yǐto use

以 is a single shape of 4 strokes. Learn it whole, then watch its stroke order below.

The character 为 (wèi) with each of its parts in a different colour
为wéias
  • 丶dot · zhǔ
  • 力strength · lì
  • 丶dot · zhǔ

How to write 以为

以 4 strokes · 为 4 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

以为 (yǐwéi) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 以为 (yǐwéi). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 以为

Words with 以

可以kěyǐ · can所以suǒyǐ · so以前yǐqián · before以后yǐhòu · after以下yǐxià · below以上yǐshàng · above以外yǐwài · apart from以yǐ · with以及yǐjí · and以来yǐlái · since (a previous event)

Words with 为

因为yīnwèi · because为什么wèishénme · why为wèi · for认为rènwéi · believe为了wèile · in order to成为chéngwéi · to become行为xíngwéi · action作为zuòwéi · as (in the role of)为期wéiqī · to last for (a period)人为rénwéi · man-made

More words: Thinking & Talking

通知tōngzhī · to notify误会wùhuì · to misunderstand邀请yāoqǐng · to invite意见yìjiàn · idea原谅yuánliàng · to excuse阅读yuèdú · to read证明zhèngmíng · proof支持zhīchí · to support

FAQs

以为 (yǐwéi) means “to think (wrongly)” or “to assume”. It is an HSK 4 word.
Say it yǐwéi: yǐ with a 3rd tone, then wéi with a 2nd tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 以为 is written 以為. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type yiwei with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 以为 from the suggestions. Typing yiwei into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
以为 is an HSK 4 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.