How to Write 想 (xiǎng) — Meaning “to think”

Imagine a tree (木) with an eye (目) on top—that's 相, meaning 'appearance'—and below it a heart (心). So picture a tree growing a heart that 'thinks' about what it sees. This visual links the character's shape to its meaning of thinking.

The top part 相 is wide, so write it slightly narrower than the bottom 心 to keep the character balanced. The bottom 心 has three dots: the left dot is lower, the middle dot is highest, and the right dot is slightly higher than the left. Common mistake: making the heart too big or the strokes too cramped.

想 (xiǎng) means 'to think' and is common in everyday use. 㥯 (yǐn) is a rare character meaning 'urgent' or 'sad', and it has a different top part (㥯 uses 忍 or a variant). 恿 (yǒng) means 'to urge' or 'instigate' and is also rare; its top is 勇 (yǒng, 'brave') instead of 相. In practice, you only need to remember 想.

想 is used to express thinking, wanting, or missing someone. For example, '我想你' (I miss you) is a very common phrase. In Chinese culture, expressing thoughts often comes from the heart, which is reflected in the character's radical 心. It's an HSK 1 word, so you'll see it in simple sentences often.

Common words containing 想 include: 想要 (xiǎng yào) — to want; 想法 (xiǎng fǎ) — idea; 想象 (xiǎng xiàng) — to imagine.