忄

忄 Component (忄)

The 忄 component (忄) 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 忄 and associated concepts to the characters where it appears. It typically appears on the left side of a character. 55 characters: 1 in HSK 1, 4 in HSK 2, 3 in HSK 3, 9 in HSK 4, 4 in HSK 5, 6 in HSK 6, 28 in HSK 7-9. Components are identified through character decomposition analysis.

Radical vs. Component: 忄 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 忄 Radical (忄) page.

忄 Component at a Glance

Total Characters55
Primary RoleSemantic (meaning)
Typical Positionleft side
Most Common HSK LevelHSK 7-9 (28 characters)
Avg. Character Strokes11
Also a Kangxi Radical?Yes — view radical page

All 忄 Component Characters

HSK 1 (1 characters)

忙mángbusy

HSK 2 (4 characters)

情qíngfeeling, emotion快kuàifast, happy慢mànslow懂dǒngto understand

HSK 3 (3 characters)

怕pàto fear, afraid怪guàistrange, blame惯guànhabit, used to

HSK 4 (9 characters)

性xìngnature, gender恼nǎoannoyed悔huǐregret惜xīto cherish怀huáibosom忆yìto recollect惊jīngto startle愉yúpleased懒lǎnlazy

HSK 5 (4 characters)

恢huīto restore悄qiǎoquiet慎shèncareful憾hànregret (sense of loss or dissatisfaction)

HSK 6 (6 characters)

恨hènto hate恰qiàexactly怜liánto pity惧jùto fear愤fènindignant忧yōuto worry

HSK 7-9 (28 characters)

慌huāngto get panicky惰duòlazy悦yuèpleased惨cǎnmiserable悟wùto comprehend怖bùterror惭cánashamed悼dàoto mourn惦diànto think of恒héngpermanent恍huǎng(bound form) in a hazy state of mind慨kǎito sigh (with emotion)慷kāngused in 慷慨愧kuìashamed愣lèngto look distracted怯qiètimid慑shèTaiwan pr.惕tìfearful惋wǎnto sigh in regret or pity懈xièlax恤xùanxiety怡yíharmony悴cuìhaggard惬qièvariant of 愜|惬[qie4]惮dàndread憔qiáoused in 憔悴[qiao2 cui4]憧chōngused in 憧憬[chong1 jing3]憬jǐngawaken

Frequently Asked Questions

What characters contain the 忄 component (忄)?
There are 55 characters containing the 忄 component (忄) in the HSK 3.0 character set (CLEC 2022 syllabus): 1 in HSK 1, 4 in HSK 2, 3 in HSK 3, 9 in HSK 4, 4 in HSK 5, 6 in HSK 6, 28 in HSK 7-9. The most frequently used include 情 (qíng, "feeling, emotion"), 性 (xìng, "nature, gender"), 快 (kuài, "fast, happy"), 怕 (pà, "to fear, afraid"), 惊 (jīng, "to startle"). Components are identified through character decomposition analysis.
Is 忄 a radical or a component?
忄 is both. As a Kangxi radical, 忄 (heart) is part of the traditional system of 214 radicals used to classify Chinese characters in dictionaries. As a component, 忄 is a building block that contributes meaning, sound, or structure to compound characters. When a character "has the 忄 radical," it means 忄 is the character's primary classifier. When a character "contains the 忄 component," it means 忄 appears in the character's decomposition, regardless of whether it serves as the primary radical.
Where does 忄 appear in a character?
The 忄 component (忄) most commonly appears on the left side of a character. Full position breakdown: left side (55 characters). Knowing where a component typically sits helps with character recognition — when you see 忄 in its usual position, you can quickly identify it and infer the character's meaning or pronunciation.
What HSK levels include 忄 component characters?
Characters containing the 忄 component (忄) appear across 7 HSK levels: 1 in HSK 1, 4 in HSK 2, 3 in HSK 3, 9 in HSK 4, 4 in HSK 5, 6 in HSK 6, 28 in HSK 7-9. The largest concentration is at HSK 7-9 with 28 characters. Earlier HSK levels introduce the most common 忄-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).