Chinese Tattoo 心: Meaning, Strokes & Design Guide
The character 心 means "heart; mind, intelligence; soul; 5th lunar mansion, determinative star α Scorpii (Antares)" and is pronounced xīn. Below: its structure, the words it appears in, and how it works as a tattoo.
Quick facts
| Character | 心 |
| Pinyin | xīn |
| Meaning | heart; mind, intelligence; soul; 5th lunar mansion, determinative star α Scorpii (Antares) |
| Strokes | 4 |
| Radical | ⼼ (No. 61) |
| HSK level | newest-4 |
Words that contain 心
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 担心 | dān xīn | anxious | newest-3 |
| 中心 | zhōng xīn | center | newest-5 |
| 开心 | kāi xīn | to feel happy | newest-3 |
| 心理 | xīn lǐ | psychology | newest-5 |
| 关心 | guān xīn | to be concerned about | newest-3 |
| 心里 | xīn li | chest | newest-3 |
Words and levels: HSK vocabulary list · meanings: CC-CEDICT.
Characters sharing the ⼼ radical
思 sī 恩 ēn 忠 zhōng 恒 héng 忍 rěn 念 niàn 悟 wù 恋 liàn
All of these share the ⼼ radical, so they are visually related — useful when you compare designs.
Placing 心
心 is only 4 strokes, so it stays readable even small — but a simple character shows every wobble. There is nowhere to hide a shaky line here, so line weight and steady spacing matter more than with a dense character. Bring the stencil together with the pinyin and the meaning, and ask the artist to follow the stencil rather than redrawing the character freehand — freehand redrawing is the most common way a correct character loses a stroke and becomes a different one.
Design notes for 心
心 appears both on its own and inside compounds, so the sense depends on context; here it reads “heart; mind, intelligence; soul; 5th lunar mansion, determinative star α Scorpii (Antares)”. Regular script (楷书) keeps every stroke countable, which matters when a Chinese reader checks it. Avoid mirroring or rotating the character, and avoid very fine or cursive styles at small sizes, where strokes merge into a shape that reads as a different character.
Frequently asked questions
What does 心 mean?
心 (xīn) means “heart; mind, intelligence; soul; 5th lunar mansion, determinative star α Scorpii (Antares)”.
How is 心 pronounced?
心 is pronounced xīn in Mandarin.
How many strokes does 心 have?
心 has 4 strokes, under the ⼼ radical (No. 61).
How large should a 心 tattoo be?
With 4 strokes, 心 is open and holds detail well even at small sizes.
Which style works for 心?
Bold regular script (楷书) keeps the strokes clear. Semi-cursive (行书) adds flow but softens edges. Seal script looks classical but is harder for most readers to verify — use it only if a native reader has confirmed the rendering.
Is 心 common in modern Chinese?
Yes — 心 appears as a standalone HSK vocabulary item (newest-4), and in everyday words such as 担心、中心、开心.
Should I use simplified or traditional 心?
心 is written the same in simplified and traditional Chinese, so there is no form to choose.
Want 心 as a ready-to-use stencil with a native-checked meaning card, sized for your tattoo artist?
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Character data: Unihan (Unicode) · words: HSK vocabulary & CC-CEDICT · How we verify this