📖 Meaning & Origin
The 心 radical represents the heart — both the physical organ and the seat of emotions and thoughts. As the vertical variant 忄, it appears in kanji about feelings, thoughts, and inner states.
📚 Kanji by JLPT Level
✍️ Where it appears & how it changes shape
心 has two quite different forms. At the bottom of a kanji it keeps its full shape: 思, 意, 急, 感, 悲. On the left it compresses into 忄, called りっしんべん: 忙, 快, 情, 悔. The two look almost unrelated, so it is worth seeing them side by side once.
🔍 Don't confuse it with
Also a narrow left-hand form of three strokes. 忄 has two short strokes flanking a vertical; 扌 has one short stroke crossing it.
Also sits at the bottom. 灬 is four separate short strokes and means fire; 心 has a distinctive curved base.
📈 Beyond N5 — what comes next
| Kanji | Reading | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 意 | い | meaning, intention | N4 |
| 急 | きゅう / いそぐ | to hurry, urgent | N4 |
| 感 | かん | feeling, sense | N3 |
| 忙 | ぼう / いそがしい | busy | N3 |
JLPT does not publish official kanji lists by level. These levels follow the commonly used reference lists and are a guide, not a guarantee.
🗣️ Words you will actually meet
🎯 How to use this radical in JLPT study
心 and 忄 mark emotions and mental states, and they are unusually reliable: 思 (think), 感 (feel), 忙 (busy), 悲 (sad), 急 (hurry). When a listening or reading passage turns to how someone feels, these are the kanji that carry it. Recognising 忄 on sight is worth as much as recognising 扌.
⚠️ The mistake I see most often
Not realising that 忄 and 心 are the same radical, and so learning 忙 and 思 as unrelated shapes. They belong to one family and the meanings support each other.
💡 Teacher's Memory Tip
Three strokes like a heartbeat line on a monitor — up, peak, down. When you see 忄 on the left of a kanji, something about feelings or thoughts is involved.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
The 心 radical means 'heart,' 'mind,' or 'feeling.' In Japanese, 心 (kokoro) encompasses both mind and heart — thinking and feeling are inseparable.
N5 kanji with 心/忄: 心 (heart/mind), 思 (think/feel — rice field 田 + heart 心 = deep thoughts).
Imagine a heartbeat tracing — the three curved strokes of 心 look like a heart monitor line. Kanji with 心 or 忄 always involve the inner world.
Other N5 Radicals
Practice 「心」 kanji with AI
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