How to Say ‘I thought’ in Traditional Chinese
我還以為
wǒ hái yǐ wèi
[waw hye ee way]
💬 Usage Tip: [還以為] means "had thought / was under the impression," often setting up a correction or surprise: [我還以為你不來了]. It's useful when you want to tease based on a mistaken guess.
Phrase Breakdown
我
wǒ
[waw]
I / me
The speaker refers to themselves. Often used to set up a playful assumption or joke.
我還以為你只會請我喝水。
I thought you were only going to buy me water.
還
hái
[hye]
still / also / even
Here, 還 adds the sense of 'actually' or 'had thought.' It often appears in playful setups.
我還以為你很難聊天，結果不是。
I actually thought you'd be hard to talk to, but turns out you're not.
以為
yǐ wèi
[ee way]
to think mistakenly / to assume
Used when you thought something before but later realized otherwise. Great for teasing or setting up playful surprises.
我還以為你是這裡的常客。
I thought you were a regular here.
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