以為

Chinese

Pronunciation

Verb

以為

1. to mistakenly believe; to be under the impression; to have thought that; to assume

   我以為你不會走。 [MSC, trad.]
   我以为你不会走。 [MSC, simp.]

   Wǒ yǐwéi nǐ bùhuì zǒu.

   I thought you wouldn't leave.

   一個愚昧的人總以為自己是對的。 [MSC, trad.]
   一个愚昧的人总以为自己是对的。 [MSC, simp.]

   Yīge yúmèi de rén zǒng yǐwéi zìjǐ shì duì de.

   Ignorant people always believe they are right.

   你不要以為我真不敢殺你，你不要激我。 [MSC, trad.]
   你不要以为我真不敢杀你，你不要激我。 [MSC, simp.]

   Nǐ bùyào yǐwéi wǒ zhēn bùgǎn shā nǐ, nǐ bùyào jī wǒ.

   Don't assume I'd hesitate to kill you — don't test me.

   我仲以為係乜嘢新技術添，原來係十年前嘅嘢。 [Cantonese, trad.]
   我仲以为系乜嘢新技术添，原来系十年前嘅嘢。 [Cantonese, simp.]

   ngo⁵ zung⁶ ji⁵ wai⁴ hai⁶ mat¹ je⁵ san¹ gei⁶ seot⁶ tim¹, jyun⁴ loi⁴ hai⁶ sap⁶ nin⁴ cin⁴ ge³ je⁵.

   I seriously was wondering what on earth this is, maybe some new technology, but no, it's just something from 10 years ago.

2. (formal or literary) to believe; to regard

   竊以為／窃以为  ―  qiè yǐwéi  ―  in my humble opinion

   • 雖有祭祀，神道不以為重，獨以巫人神祀為重。若非神祀，魂靈安得一飽乎？ [Korean Literary Sinitic, trad.]

     From: c. 1700, 任埅 (Im Bang), 《天倪錄》

     Su yu jesa, sindo bul iwi jung, dok i sinsa wi jung. Yak bi sinsa, hollyeong andeuk il po ho? [Sino-Korean]

     Although there are sacrifices, the spirits do not regard this as important; they only consider the divine rituals of shamans to be important. If there were no shamanic rituals, how could the spirits ever satisfy their appetites?

   • 我以為一部理想的詞典應該具備下列三條件： [MSC, trad.]
     我以为一部理想的词典应该具备下列三条件： [MSC, simp.]

     From: 1930, 王雲五 (Wang Yun-wu), 《〈王雲五大辭典〉序》 (Preface to the Wang Yun-wu Da Cidian)

     Wǒ yǐwéi yī bù lǐxiǎng de cídiǎn yīnggāi jùbèi xiàliè sān tiáojiàn:

     I think that an ideal dictionary should meet the following three requirements:

3. (literary) to serve as

   • 我們必須逐步地建設一批規模大的現代化的企業以為骨幹，沒有這個骨幹就不能使我國在幾十年內變為現代化的工業強國。 [MSC, trad.]
     我们必须逐步地建设一批规模大的现代化的企业以为骨干，没有这个骨干就不能使我国在几十年内变为现代化的工业强国。 [MSC, simp.]

     From: 1957, 毛澤東 (Mao Zedong), 《關於正確處理人民內部矛盾的問題》 (On the Correct Handling of Contradictions Among the People), 《毛澤東選集》. English translation based on the Foreign Languages Press edition

     Wǒmen bìxū zhúbù de jiànshè yī pī guīmó dà de xiàndàihuà de qǐyè yǐwéi gǔgàn, méiyǒu zhège gǔgàn jiù bùnéng shǐ wǒguó zài jǐshí nián nèi biànwéi xiàndàihuà de gōngyè qiángguó.

     We must build up a number of large-scale modern enterprises step by step to form the mainstay of our industry, without which we shall not be able to turn China into a powerful modern industrial country within the coming decades.

Synonyms

• (to mistakenly believe): 當是／当是 (dāngshì), (Hakka) 恅著／恅着, (Hokkien) 掠準／掠准 (lia̍h-chún), (Hokkien) 叫是
• (to believe):

• (to serve as): 用為／用为, 用作 (yòngzuò)

Derived terms