自信
zìxìn · HSK 4
self-confidence
自信 = self + believe (信 = trust/believe)
自 means self (originally a drawing of a nose, which Chinese speakers point to for 'me'). 信 combines 人 person + 言 speech = words you can trust. Self + trust-in-words = self-confidence.
自 — pictograph of a nose
自 originally depicted a human nose, shown frontally with the bridge and nostrils. Ancient Chinese pointed to their own nose to mean 'me,' so 自 shifted to mean 'self' or 'oneself.' A new character 鼻 was later created to carry the original 'nose' meaning.
信 — person 亻 + speech 言
信 combines 亻(person) with 言(speech), depicting a person standing by their words. The original sense is 'truthfulness' or 'sincerity'—what a person says can be trusted. From this it extended to 'believe,' 'trust,' and later 'message' or 'letter,' since a letter carries one's word.