The -疑 words

[yersi]

This is one of those characters that just keeps popping up in words. So far I've got:

怀疑 - suspect

嫌疑 - suspicion

质疑 - suspect

置疑 - doubt

疑惑 - doubt

犹疑 - hesitate

Of these, 怀疑 is the one that everyone knows. But is there any difference between it and 质疑?

Same question for 置疑 and 疑惑. They both mean doubt, but is there any difference between them in terms of usage or meaning?

[amandagmu]

Add to that list: 疑问 - question, doubt, uncertainty.

This comes from a sentence in my textbook which uses it in this way:

<<古人在无数疑问下,...>>

the sentence is one of those long ones with several commas but to sum it up says that because of these doubts/uncertainties (so, the word is a noun here), ancient peoples created gods.

The differences between words in Chinese is very subtle and in my experience defined better by what sentences you can use the word in -- rather than coming up with differences in the definition.

I'd love to hear what other people have to think about how to quickly learn differences between other words that are similar too, for example:

改变

变化

变成

变迁

变形

...etc

~Amanda

[monto]

Of these, 怀疑 is the one that everyone knows. But is there any difference between it and 质疑?

1) They are both nouns. 怀疑 is also often used as a verb while 质疑 is scarely so;

2) 怀疑 can be either with or without reasoning or evidence. 质疑 is with reasoning or evidence;

3) 怀疑 may be expressed or just kept in mind. 质疑 is an expressed one.

Example:

我怀疑该结论的真实性，特此提出质疑如下：