Practise the thinking. Keep the judgement.
认为 and 以为: belief and mistaken expectation
Original Chinese study material with English explanations. Simplified Chinese with pinyin; beginner, intermediate and advanced are editorial difficulty labels.
认为 (rènwéi) introduces a view or judgement. 以为 (yǐwéi) often presents a previous assumption that the context corrects or questions.
我认为这个办法可行。
Wǒ rènwéi zhège bànfǎ kěxíng.
I think this method is feasible.
我以为今天是星期五。
Wǒ yǐwéi jīntiān shì xīngqīwǔ.
I thought today was Friday.
以为 often suggests a mistaken assumption, but context supplies whether it was actually wrong. 认为 does not prove a claim true.
Try it
Which most naturally introduces an assumption being corrected?
- 我以为……
- 我给……
- 我把……
Answer and explanation
我以为……. 以为 commonly frames an earlier assumption that now needs revision.