<p>We often have mistaken beliefs about various topics. With this article, we learn how to express them in Chinese!</p> <h2 id="structure">Structure</h2> <p>In English, the verb "to think" can imply that the belief is incorrect, e.g. in "I thought it was legal here." Chinese has a specific verb for this kind of mistaken belief: 以为 (yǐwéi). Literally these two characters mean "take to be," i.e. someone takes one thing to be something else.</p> <div class="jiegou"> <p>Subj. + 以为 ⋯⋯</p> </div> <p>The phrase will be a whole new statement that is actually incorrect.</p> <h2 id="examples">Examples</h2> <div class="liju"> <ul> <li>我 <em>以为</em> 他 是 英国 人 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ <em>yǐwéi</em> tā shì Yīngguó rén.</span><span class="trans">I thought he is British.</span></li> <li>我们 <em>以为</em> 只 有 家人 知道 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒmen <em>yǐwéi</em> zhǐ yǒu jiārén zhīdào.</span><span class="trans">We thought only family members know.</span></li> <li>很多 人 <em>以为</em> 大 城市 什么 都 贵。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ <em>yǐwéi</em> tǔdòu jiùshì hóngshǔ.</span><span class="trans">I thought potato is sweet potato.</span></li> <li>所有 人 都 <em>以为</em> 你 才 二十 岁 ！<span class="pinyin">Suǒyǒu rén dōu <em>yǐwéi</em> nǐ cái èrshí suì.</span><span class="trans">Everybody thought you're only twenty.</span></li> <li>我 <em>以为</em> 你们 分手 了 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ <em>yǐwéi</em> nǐmen fēnshǒu le.</span><span class="trans">I thought you guys broke up.</span></li> <li>我们 都 <em>以为</em> 你 生气 了 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒmen dōu <em>yǐwéi</em> nǐ shēngqì le.</span><span class="trans">We all thought you were angry.</span></li> <li>老师 <em>以为</em> 学生 都 听懂 了 。<span class="pinyin">Lǎoshī <em>yǐwéi</em> xuéshēng dōu tīngdǒng le.</span><span class="trans">The teacher thought students all understood.</span></li> <li>大家 都 <em>以为</em> 他 是 大 老板 。<span class="pinyin">Dàjiā dōu <em>yǐwéi</em> tā shì dà lǎobǎn.</span><span class="trans">Everybody thought he's the big boss.</span></li> <li>她 是 你 外婆 ？我 <em>以为</em> 是 你 妈妈 。<span class="pinyin">Tā shì nǐ wàipó? Wǒ <em>yǐwéi</em> shì nǐ māma.</span><span class="trans">She's your grandma? I thought she's your mother.</span></li> <li>你 怎么 会 去 吃 四川 火锅 ？我 <em>以为</em> 你 不 爱 吃辣 。<span class="pinyin">Nǐ zěnme huì qù chī Sìchuān huǒguō? Wǒ <em>yǐwéi</em> nǐ bù ài chī là.</span><span class="trans">Why would you go to Sichuan hotpot? I thought you don't like eating spicy food.</span></li> </ul> </div> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul> <li><a href="Result_complement_"-cuo"" title="wikilink">Result complement "-cuo"</a></li> </ul> <h2 id="sources-and-further-reading">Sources and further reading</h2> <h3 id="books">Books</h3> <ul> <li><a href="Short-term_Spoken_Chinese:_Elementary_(汉语口语速成基础篇)" title="wikilink">Short-term Spoken Chinese: Elementary (汉语口语速成基础篇)</a> (pp. 106) <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00326U9MS/ref%3das_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=B00326U9MS">→buy</a></li> <li><a href="Contemporary_Chinese_4_(当代中文4)" title="wikilink">Contemporary Chinese 4 (当代中文4)</a> (pp. 31) <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/7800529371/ref%3das_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=7800529371">→buy</a></li> </ul> <p> </p> <p><a href="Category:B1_grammar_points" title="wikilink">Category:B1 grammar points</a></p>