心

Heart, mind Component (心)

xīn · 4 strokes

The heart, mind component (心) is one of the most common building blocks in Chinese characters. In Chinese, components serve different roles: semantic elements contribute meaning, phonetic elements suggest pronunciation, and structural elements provide the character's framework. It primarily serves as a semantic element, contributing meaning related to heart, mind and associated concepts to the characters where it appears. It typically appears on the bottom of a character. 50 characters: 4 in HSK 1, 3 in HSK 2, 5 in HSK 3, 6 in HSK 4, 8 in HSK 5, 7 in HSK 6, 17 in HSK 7-9. Components are identified through character decomposition analysis.

Radical vs. Component: 心 is also a Kangxi radical (heart). As a radical, it classifies characters in dictionaries. As a component, it appears as a building block contributing meaning, sound, or structure. For radical-specific details, see the Heart, mind Radical (心) page.

Heart, mind Component at a Glance

Stroke Count4
Total Characters50
Primary RoleSemantic (meaning)
Typical Positionbottom
Most Common HSK LevelHSK 7-9 (17 characters)
Avg. Character Strokes10
Also a Kangxi Radical?Yes — view radical page

All Heart, mind Component Characters

HSK 1 (4 characters)

想xiǎngto think, to want怎zěnhow息xībreath您nínyou (courteous, as opposed to informal 你[ni3])

HSK 2 (3 characters)

思sīto think, thought忘wàngto forget意yìmeaning, idea

HSK 3 (5 characters)

总zǒngalways, total愿yuànwish, willing感gǎnto feel, to sense必bìcertainly急jíurgent

HSK 4 (6 characters)

志zhìambition, will忽hūto neglect态tài(bound form)恐kǒngafraid虑lǜto think over悉xīin all cases

HSK 5 (8 characters)

念niànto read, to think of忍rěnto bear慧huìintelligent惠huì(bound form) act of kindness (from a superior)恋liànto feel attached to慰wèito comfort怨yuànto blame悠yōulong or drawn out

HSK 6 (7 characters)

愁chóuto worry about恶èevil悲bēisad患huànto suffer (from illness)怒nùanger惩chéngto punish惑huòto confuse

HSK 7-9 (17 characters)

愈yùthe more...(the more...)闷mēnstuffy恳kěnearnest恩ēnfavor悬xuánto hang or suspend忠zhōngloyal憋biēto choke慈cícompassionate怠dàiidle忌jìto be jealous of惹rěto provoke恕shùto forgive芯xīn(bound form) the pith of the rush plant (used as a lampwick)愚yúto be stupid怂sóngvariant of 㞞|𪨊[song2]恿yǒngused in 慫恿|怂恿[song3 yong3]憨hānsilly

Frequently Asked Questions

What characters contain the heart, mind component (心)?
There are 50 characters containing the heart, mind component (心) in the HSK 3.0 character set (CLEC 2022 syllabus): 4 in HSK 1, 3 in HSK 2, 5 in HSK 3, 6 in HSK 4, 8 in HSK 5, 7 in HSK 6, 17 in HSK 7-9. The most frequently used include 想 (xiǎng, "to think, to want"), 意 (yì, "meaning, idea"), 总 (zǒng, "always, total"), 感 (gǎn, "to feel, to sense"), 必 (bì, "certainly"). Components are identified through character decomposition analysis.
Is 心 a radical or a component?
心 is both. As a Kangxi radical, 心 (heart) is part of the traditional system of 214 radicals used to classify Chinese characters in dictionaries. As a component, 心 is a building block that contributes meaning, sound, or structure to compound characters. When a character "has the heart, mind radical," it means 心 is the character's primary classifier. When a character "contains the heart, mind component," it means 心 appears in the character's decomposition, regardless of whether it serves as the primary radical.
Where does 心 appear in a character?
The heart, mind component (心) most commonly appears on the bottom of a character. Full position breakdown: bottom (46 characters), inner (enclosed) part (3 characters), base (1 characters). Knowing where a component typically sits helps with character recognition — when you see 心 in its usual position, you can quickly identify it and infer the character's meaning or pronunciation.
What HSK levels include heart, mind component characters?
Characters containing the heart, mind component (心) appear across 7 HSK levels: 4 in HSK 1, 3 in HSK 2, 5 in HSK 3, 6 in HSK 4, 8 in HSK 5, 7 in HSK 6, 17 in HSK 7-9. The largest concentration is at HSK 7-9 with 17 characters. Earlier HSK levels introduce the most common heart, mind-related characters, while advanced levels add specialized or literary terms.

Sources & Standards

Components are identified through structural decomposition analysis of characters in the HSK 3.0 Standard (《国际中文教育中文水平等级标准》), published by the Center for Language Education and Cooperation (CLEC), Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, 2022 revision. Radical classifications follow the Kangxi radical system (康熙部首).