- Basic forms
- 信じる — to believe / base form
- 信じます — polite / I believe / masu form
- 信じた — past / believed / ta form
- 信じて — te-form / believe (and…) / linking or request
- 信じない — negative / don’t believe / negative form
- 信じれば — if (I) believe / conditional
- 信じろ・信じよ — believe! / imperative
- Other common forms
- 信じたい — want to believe / 〜たい form
- 信じられる — can believe / be believed / potential / passive
- 信じられた — could believe / was believed (past)
- 信じられない — can’t believe / unbelievable
- More
- 信じよう — let’s believe / 〜よう form
- 信じなかった — didn’t believe / negative past
- 信じている — believing / trusting right now / progressive
信じる (しんじる) is an ichidan (る-verb). Drop る and add endings like ます, た, て, ない. Used when expressing belief, trust, or confidence — in people, facts, or feelings.
- 信じる — to believe
- 自信 — confidence
- 通信 — communication
- 信用 — trust / credit
- 信号 — traffic signal
- 確信 — conviction
- 送信 — transmission (sending)
- 受信 — reception (receiving)
信 combines the person radical 亻 with 言 (words), evoking “a person’s words” → reliability → trust. Note: 信じる is built from the on-yomi シン + verb ending じる and functions as the everyday verb “to believe.”
彼を 信じてください。
Please believe in him.
私は 自信があります。
I have confidence in myself.
