忱 (chén) is a Chinese character meaning “sincerity”. It is written from 忄 (heart (left-side form)) and 冘 (yín — an old character, today seen mainly as the right-hand sound part of 沈, 枕, 耽), side by side, and takes 7 strokes.
Build the character for “sincerity — a heart with nothing held back”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
忄 + 冘
Left–right structure
- 忄 heart (left-side form) · xīn meaning
- 冘 yín — an old character, today seen mainly as the right-hand sound part of 沈, 枕, 耽 · yín sound
Structure from: 说文解字：忱，誠也。从心冘聲（现代字形拆分对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：忄 3 画 + 冘 4 画 = 7 画）
Memory aid
The heart on the left (忄) is what this character is about; 冘 on the right is only there for the sound. A heart with nothing hidden behind it — sincerity.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
7 strokes
In real words
- 赤忱chì chénutter sincerity; wholehearted devotion忱 = chén
Go deeper
All readings
sincerity
sincerity; sincere feeling; earnest devotion (mostly in written words such as 赤忱)
真诚的心意；诚恳。多用于书面词语，如「赤忱」。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 赤忱chì chénutter sincerity; wholehearted devotion忱 = chén
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 忱 mean?
忱 (chén) means sincerity; sincere feeling; earnest devotion (mostly in written words such as 赤忱).
How do you pronounce 忱?
It is pronounced chén.
What parts is 忱 made of?
忄 (heart (left-side form)) and 冘 (yín — an old character, today seen mainly as the right-hand sound part of 沈, 枕, 耽), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字：忱，誠也。从心冘聲（现代字形拆分对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：忄 3 画 + 冘 4 画 = 7 画）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 忱 have?
7. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 忱?
心. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 忱?
Common ones are 赤忱. The reading of 忱 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.