xīn
noun HSK 3 #385

Meanings

  1. 1 heart
  2. 2 mind; feeling
  3. 3 center; core

Characters

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

Examples

Tā de xīn hěn shànliáng.
She has a kind heart.
Wǒ xīnli hěn gāoxìng.
I feel very happy inside.
Tā bǎ zhè jiàn shì fàngzài xīnshàng le.
He took this matter to heart.

Tips

usage
is one of the most productive radicals and components in Chinese. It appears in hundreds of emotion and thought words: (think), (feel), (meaning), (forget), (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
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 , as bottom radical to . Powers mental and emotional words: think, miss, forget, fear, emotion. is itself Kangxi radical 61.

Stroke Order

xīn