芯 (xīn) is a Chinese character meaning “core”. It is written from 艹 (grass / plant radical) and 心 (heart; mind), one above the other, and takes 7 strokes.
Build the character for “core”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
艹 + 心
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: studyhanzi 现代字形拆分（对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画：3 笔艹 + 4 笔心 = 7 笔）
Memory aid
A grass top (艹) sitting on a heart (心): the heart of the plant — the soft pith running down the middle of the stem. That inner core is 芯. And 心 xīn hands you the sound unchanged: xīn.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
7 strokes
In real words
- 芯片xīn piànchip; microchip芯 = xīn
Go deeper
All readings
core
core; the central part of something — the pith of a plant, the wick of a lamp, the chip inside a device
物体的中心部分，如草木的髓、灯的捻子，也指集成电路的芯片。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 芯片xīn piànchip; microchip芯 = xīn
Sound component
心 family exact
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 芯 mean?
芯 (xīn) means core; the central part of something — the pith of a plant, the wick of a lamp, the chip inside a device.
How do you pronounce 芯?
It is pronounced xīn.
What parts is 芯 made of?
艹 (grass / plant radical) and 心 (heart; mind), one above the other. The recorded source is: studyhanzi 现代字形拆分（对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画：3 笔艹 + 4 笔心 = 7 笔）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 芯 have?
7. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 芯?
艹. 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 芯?
Common ones are 芯片. The reading of 芯 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.