心

Heart Radical (心)

xīn · 4 strokes

The heart radical (心) is one of the most common radicals in Chinese. It appears in 111 characters related to heart and associated concepts. 111 characters: 6 in HSK 1, 7 in HSK 2, 9 in HSK 3, 15 in HSK 4, 13 in HSK 5, 13 in HSK 6, 44 in HSK 7-9, 4 outside the HSK syllabus. Radical classifications follow the Kangxi radical system. Character data is based on the HSK 3.0 Standard (CLEC 2022 syllabus).

Radical vs. Component: 心 is also a character component. As a radical, it classifies characters in dictionaries. As a component, it appears as a building block contributing meaning, sound, or structure. For component-specific details including role analysis and position patterns, see the Heart Component (心) page.

Heart Radical at a Glance

Stroke Count4
Total Characters111
Most Common HSK LevelHSK 7-9 (44 characters)
Avg. Character Strokes11
ClassificationKangxi Radicals

All Heart Radical Characters

HSK 1 (6 characters)

爱àito love想xiǎngto think, to want忙mángbusy怎zěnhow息xībreath您nínyou (courteous, as opposed to informal 你)

HSK 2 (7 characters)

思sīto think, thought忘wàngto forget意yìmeaning, idea情qíngfeeling, emotion快kuàifast, happy慢mànslow懂dǒngto understand

HSK 3 (9 characters)

心xīnheart, mind总zǒngalways, total愿yuànwish, willing感gǎnto feel, to sense怕pàto fear, afraid怪guàistrange, blame惯guànhabit, used to必bìcertainly急jíurgent

HSK 4 (15 characters)

志zhìambition, will性xìngnature, gender恼nǎoannoyed悔huǐregret惜xīto cherish怀huáibosom忆yìto recollect忽hūto neglect态tài(bound form)恐kǒngafraid惊jīngto startle愉yúpleased悉xīin all cases懒lǎnlazy慕mùto admire

HSK 5 (13 characters)

念niànto read, to think of忍rěnto bear恢huīto restore悄qiǎoquiet慎shèncareful慧huìintelligent惠huì(bound form) act of kindness (from a superior)恋liànto feel attached to慰wèito comfort怨yuànto blame憾hànregret (sense of loss or dissatisfaction)恭gōngrespectful悠yōulong or drawn out

HSK 6 (13 characters)

恨hènto hate恰qiàexactly愁chóuto worry about怜liánto pity惧jùto fear恶èevil悲bēisad愤fènindignant患huànto suffer (from illness)怒nùanger忧yōuto worry惩chéngto punish惑huòto confuse

HSK 7-9 (44 characters)

怂sóngcowardly恿yǒngused in 慫恿|怂恿憨hānsilly愈yùthe more...(the more...)慌huāngto get panicky惰duòlazy悦yuèpleased恳kěnearnest惨cǎnmiserable恩ēnfavor悟wùto comprehend悬xuánto hang or suspend忠zhōngloyal惫bèiexhausted憋biēto choke怖bùterror惭cánashamed慈cícompassionate怠dàiidle悼dàoto mourn惦diànto think of恒héngpermanent恍huǎng(bound form) in a hazy state of mind忌jìto be jealous of慨kǎito sigh (with emotion)慷kāngused in 慷慨愧kuìashamed愣lèngto look distracted怯qiètimid惹rěto provoke慑shè(bound form) to fear恕shùto forgive惕tìfearful惋wǎnto sigh in regret or pity懈xièlax恤xùanxiety怡yíharmony愚yúto be stupid悴cuìhaggard惬qièsatisfied惮dàndread憔qiáoused in 憔悴憧chōngused in 憧憬憬jǐngawaken

Not in HSK (4 characters)

惟wéi-ism懿yì(literary) exemplary忒tèto err憩qìto rest

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the heart radical mean in Chinese characters?
The heart radical (心) signals a semantic connection to heart-related concepts. When you see 心 in a character, it typically indicates the character's meaning involves heart or associated ideas. With 111 characters using this radical, it is one of the more productive radicals in Chinese. Radical classifications follow the Kangxi radical system, the traditional standard for organizing Chinese characters.
How many characters use the heart radical?
There are 107 characters with the heart radical (心) in the HSK 3.0 character set (CLEC 2022 syllabus): 6 in HSK 1, 7 in HSK 2, 9 in HSK 3, 15 in HSK 4, 13 in HSK 5, 13 in HSK 6, 44 in HSK 7-9. Another 4 characters are outside the HSK syllabus. The distribution across HSK levels reflects how fundamental heart-related concepts are at each stage of Mandarin learning.
What are the most common heart radical characters?
By frequency of use, the most common characters with the heart radical (心) are: 心 (xīn, "heart, mind"), 想 (xiǎng, "to think, to want"), 意 (yì, "meaning, idea"), 情 (qíng, "feeling, emotion"), 性 (xìng, "nature, gender"). These high-frequency characters are among the first heart-related characters most learners encounter.
What HSK levels include heart radical characters?
Characters with the heart radical (心) appear across 7 HSK levels: 6 in HSK 1, 7 in HSK 2, 9 in HSK 3, 15 in HSK 4, 13 in HSK 5, 13 in HSK 6, 44 in HSK 7-9. The largest concentration is at HSK 7-9 with 44 characters. Another 4 characters are outside the HSK syllabus. Earlier HSK levels introduce the most common heart-related characters, while advanced levels add specialized or literary terms.

Sources & Standards

Radical classifications on this page follow the Kangxi radical system (康熙部首), the standard set of 214 radicals codified in the Kangxi Dictionary (康熙字典, 1716). Character data is based on 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.