kuài
adjective HSK 1 #77

Meanings

  1. 1 fast
  2. 2 quick
  3. 3 soon
  4. 4 happy

Characters

(heart) + (decisive) — a decisive heart acts quickly.

Examples

Nǐ zǒu de tài kuài le.
You're walking too fast.
Kuài lái!
Come quickly!
Diànyǐng kuàiyào kāishǐ le.
The movie is about to start.

Tips

grammar
快要... means 'about to': 快要下雨 (It's about to rain). This is a very useful pattern.
usage
The 'happy' meaning survives in 快乐 (happy/joyful), as in 生日快乐 (Happy Birthday).

Components

radical
xīn
heart; mind (left-side form)
Vertical heart radical on the left — the side-form of . It supplies 's original meaning, which was 'pleased / glad' (still alive in 快乐 and 痛快). The 'fast' sense developed later but the heart radical kept indexed with mental-state characters such as , , , — all matters of the heart.
phonetic
guài
decisive; resolute
Right component supplies the sound: → kuài with a velar onset shift. It also adds a faint colour of decisiveness — a heart that acts without hesitation, fitting both 'glad' and 'quick.' The same phonetic appears in (decide), (lack), (knack).

Stroke Order

kuài