快 (kuài): fast, happy
快 (kuài) is a Chinese character meaning “fast, happy.” Classified as HSK Level 2 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 忄 (structural) and 夬 (structural). It ranks #366 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 快 a decisive 夬 will 忄; 夬 also provides the pronunciation. Its radical form 忄 (heart) appears in many related characters such as 忙 (máng, busy), 怎 (zěn, how), 息 (xī, breath).
Definitions
- fast, happy
Etymology & Origin
ideographicA decisive 夬 will 忄; 夬 also provides the pronunciation
Decomposition: ⿰忄夬 (layout: left-right)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 快 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 快
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 快乐adjective | kuài lè | happy | 2 |
| 愉快adjective | yú kuài | cheerful | 4 |
| 赶快adverb | gǎn kuài | quickly | 4 |
| 尽快adverb | jǐn kuài | as quickly as possible | 5 |
| 快要adverb | kuài yào | nearly at the point of (doing sth) | 2 |
| 快速adjective | kuài sù | fast | 4 |
| 加快verb | jiā kuài | to accelerate | 4 |
| 痛快adjective | tòng kuài | delighted | 6 |
| 快递noun | kuài dì | express delivery | 4 |
| 快餐noun | kuài cān | fast food | 4 |
| 凉快adjective | liáng kuai | pleasantly cool (weather etc) | 3 |
| 快捷adjective | kuài jié | quick | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 快感 | kuài gǎn | pleasure |
| 快活 | kuài huo | happy |
| 欢快 | huān kuài | cheerful and lighthearted |
| 飞快 | fēi kuài | very fast |
| 快步 | kuài bù | quick step |
| 快车 | kuài chē | express (train, bus etc) |
| 快餐店 | kuài cān diàn | fast food shop |
| 特快 | tè kuài | express (train, delivery etc) |
| 外快 | wài kuài | extra income |
| 快艇 | kuài tǐng | speedboat |
| 爽快 | shuǎng kuai | refreshed |
| 快照 | kuài zhào | (photography) snapshot |
| 快门 | kuài mén | shutter |
| 轻快 | qīng kuài | light and quick |
| 勤快 | qín kuài | diligent |
快 appears in 100 compound words: 63 as the first character, 27 as the last, and 10 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 快 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (13)
to have to get something off one's chest; to have to say something to feel comfortable
to whip the horse to an even swifter speed; to go even faster; to accelerate the speed
to be the first to witness something and regard such action as a pleasure
to whip the horse to an even swifter speed; to go even faster; to accelerate the speed
to be the first to witness something and regard such action as a pleasure
Showing 12 of 13 idioms containing 快.
Example Sentences
快递通常在三天内送达，偏远地区可能需要五天。
Kuàidì tōngcháng zài sān tiān nèi sòngdá, piānyuǎn dìqū kěnéng xūyào wǔ tiān.
Express delivery usually arrives within three days; remote areas may take five days.
快讯/马来西亚沙巴凌晨发生7.1强震
kuài xùn mǎ lái xī yà shā bā líng chén fā shēng 7 . 1 qiáng zhèn
News/A 7.1 earthquake struck Sabah, Malaysia in the early morning
快讯/闯入川普海湖庄园遭击毙 21岁嫌身分...
kuài xùn chuǎng rù chuān pǔ hǎi hú zhuāng yuán zāo jī bì 2 1 suì xián shēn fēn . . .
News/Breaking into Trump's Mar-a-Lago and being killed by a 21-year-old suspect...
热/快把记忆体捡回来? 台股4强曝
rè kuài bǎ jì yì tǐ jiǎn huí lái ? tái gǔ 4 qiáng pù
Hot/Quickly pick up the memory back? Taiwan stocks are the top 4 exposed
渝股2025年业绩预快报:金科股份净利润325亿元..
yú gǔ nián yè jì yù kuài bào jīn kē gǔ fèn jìng lì rùn yì yuán . .
Chongqing Stock 2025 Preliminary Earnings Report: Jinke Co., Ltd. Net Profit Hits 32.5 Billion Yuan...
子弟兵给您送祝福啦,快来签收!
zǐ dì bīng gěi nín sòng zhù fú lā , kuài lái qiān shōu !
Our troops are sending you blessings—come sign for them!
为什么没写作业？快说！
Wèishéme méi xiězuò yè? kuài shuō!
Why didn't you do your homework? Speak up!
那个学生跑得很快，不是吗？
Nèige xuésheng pǎo de hěn kuài, bù shì ma?
That student runs fast, doesn't he?
我们很快就到这儿了，不是吗？
Wǒmen hěn kuài jiù dào zhèr le, bù shì ma?
We arrived here fast, didn't we?
船和火车哪个跑得快？
Chuán hé huǒchē nǎge pǎo de kuài?
Which goes faster, a ship or a train?
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 快 (kuài) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 快 and 慢?
How many strokes does 快 have?
What is the radical of 快?
What are the components of 快?
What are common words containing 快?
What characters sound the same as 快 (kuài)?
Is 快 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 快 with real-time feedback
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