{"id":1383,"date":"2026-08-21T10:35:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T10:35:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kamicrew.com\/blog\/?p=1383"},"modified":"2026-08-21T10:35:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T10:35:12","slug":"japanese-heart-symbol","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kamicrew.com\/blog\/japanese-heart-symbol\/","title":{"rendered":"Japanese Heart Symbol: \u5fc3 (Kokoro) and the Heart Shape \u2661"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The
The kanji \u5fc3 brushed on washi paper<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Japanese heart symbol is \u5fc3<\/strong>, read kokoro<\/strong> (\u3053\u3053\u308d) in its Japanese reading and shin<\/strong> (\u30b7\u30f3) in its Chinese-derived reading. It is written with four strokes, taught in grade 2 of Japanese schools, and tested at JLPT level N4. It means heart, but it stretches to mind, spirit, feeling, and the center of something.<\/p>\n

\u5fc3 is not the same thing as \u2661. The rounded heart shape you type in a message is a Western pictogram that belongs to no single language, and Japanese calls it \u30cf\u30fc\u30c8 (haato), not \u5fc3. \u5fc3 is a written character that began as a drawing of the organ itself and grew into the word for a person’s whole inner life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Character<\/strong><\/td>\n\u5fc3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Kunyomi (Japanese reading)<\/strong><\/td>\nkokoro (\u3053\u3053\u308d)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Onyomi (Chinese-derived reading)<\/strong><\/td>\nshin (\u30b7\u30f3)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Strokes<\/strong><\/td>\n4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
School grade<\/strong><\/td>\nGrade 2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
JLPT level<\/strong><\/td>\nN4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Core meanings<\/strong><\/td>\nHeart, mind, spirit, feeling, center or core<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Character type<\/strong><\/td>\nPictograph, also used as a radical<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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