心 (xīn) · heart

Meanings

1 heart
2 mind; feeling
3 center; core

Characters

心

xīn

heart; mind

A pictograph of a heart - one of the most important radicals, appearing in hundreds of emotion and thought characters.

Examples

HSK 1

我心里很高兴。

Wǒ xīnli hěn gāoxìng.

I feel very happy inside.

HSK 3

他把这件事放在心上了。

Tā bǎ zhè jiàn shì fàngzài xīnshàng le.

He took this matter to heart.

HSK 5

她的心很善良。

Tā de xīn hěn shànliáng.

She has a kind heart.

Tips

usage

心 is one of the most productive radicals and components in Chinese. It appears in hundreds of emotion and thought words: 想 (think), 感 (feel), 意 (meaning), 忘 (forget), 怕 (fear).

usage

Common compounds: 心情 (mood), 关心 (to care about), 小心 (careful), 开心 (happy), 放心 (relieved), 中心 (center).

Components

pictograph

心 xīn

heart; mind; feeling

Stylised picture of a beating heart - the curved hook is the chamber, the three dots the vessels and aorta. As left-side radical it contracts to 忄, as bottom radical to ⺗. Powers mental and emotional words: 想 think, 念 miss, 忘 forget, 怕 fear, 情 emotion. 心 is itself Kangxi radical 61.

Radical

Heart Kangxi #61

One of the most productive emotional radicals in the script. Strong clue that a character involves feeling, intention, or mental state: 想 (think), 念 (miss), 忘 (forget), 怕 (fear), 意 (intent), 慢 (slow). Appears as 忄 on the left of characters and as ⺗ underneath.

Forms

心 xīn

Default 63 characters

忄 shùxīn

Left 110 characters

⺗ héngxīn

Bottom 3 characters