The character 心 — “heart”: how to write it and what it means
heart
The Chinese character 心 is read xīn and means “heart”. Below: the stroke order step by step, what the character is made of and the words it appears in.
Stroke order: how to write 心
心 has 4 strokes. At each step the new stroke is highlighted — write them in the same order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical, a frame before what is inside it, and the bottom stroke of the frame last.
To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for 心, with strokes to trace and empty squares.
What 心 is made of
A picture of a heart. At the side of a character it shrinks to 忄.
The parts of a character hint at its meaning or its reading — more in the article “Chinese character radicals”.
Words with 心
- 开心happy, cheerfulHSK 3
- 心里at heart, insideHSK 3
- 担心worryHSK 3
- 放心not worry, rest assuredHSK 3
- 关心care aboutHSK 3
- 小心careful; be carefulHSK 3
- 粗心carelessHSK 4
- 细心attentive, carefulHSK 4
- 耐心patience; patientHSK 4
- 爱心kindness, compassionHSK 4
- 信心confidenceHSK 4
- 心情moodHSK 4
- 伤心grieve; sadHSK 4
- 内心heart, inner worldHSK 4
- 点心sweets, pastriesHSK 5
- 心理mind; psychologicalHSK 5
Frequently asked questions
How do you write the character 心?
心 has 4 strokes. They follow the usual rules: top to bottom, left to right, horizontal before vertical, outside before inside. The order of each stroke is shown on this page.
What does 心 mean?
心 means “heart”. It appears in 开心 (“happy”), 心里 (“at heart”), 担心 (“worry”), 放心 (“not worry”).
How do you pronounce 心?
心 is read xīn. The tone is part of the reading: with another melody it becomes another syllable.
How many strokes does 心 have?
4 strokes.
More characters on the page “Chinese characters with meanings” and in the list of HSK characters by level; whole words are in the dictionary.
Write 心 yourself
In the lessons you write characters stroke by stroke with a finger or a mouse, and the course checks the order. You can start for free, no sign-up needed.
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