快

Tap the pinyin to hear it

rapid; quick; speed; rate; soon; almost; to make haste; clever; sharp (of knives or wits); forthright; plainspoken; gratified; pleased; pleasant

Sound it out + + =

Formation & memory

Break the character into parts you already know.

Ideographic compound (会意字)

A decisive 夬 will 忄; 夬 also provides the pronunciation

Components 忄夬

fast · Heisig RSH #1274

state of mind + guillotine

Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.

The most common words first — learning a character in context makes it stick.

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
大快人心	dà kuài rén xīn	to the satisfaction of everyone
快中子	kuài zhōng zǐ	fast neutrons
眼明手快	yǎn míng shǒu kuài	sharp-sighted and deft
生日快乐	shēng rì kuài lè	Happy birthday
快行道	kuài xíng dào	fast lane; express lane
火星快车	Huǒ xīng Kuài chē	Mars Express, a European Space Agency spacecraft launched in 2003
快点儿	kuài diǎn r	erhua variant of 快點\|快点[kuai4 dian3]
平快车	píng kuài chē	local express
特快车	tè kuài chē	special express
快车道	kuài chē dào	fast lane
开快车	kāi kuài chē	to drive at high speed; (fig.) rush through one's work
快感中心	kuài gǎn zhōng xīn	pleasure center
口快心直	kǒu kuài xīn zhí	see 心直口快[xin1 zhi2 kou3 kuai4]
心直口快	xīn zhí kǒu kuài	frank and outspoken (idiom); straight speaking; to say what one thinks
新年快乐	xīn nián kuài lè	Happy New Year!
有话快说	yǒu huà kuài shuō	spit it out!
助人为快乐之本	zhù rén wéi kuài lè zhī běn	pleasure from helping others
快板儿	kuài bǎn r	clapper talk; patter song (in opera) with clapperboard accompaniment
嘴快心直	zuǐ kuài xīn zhí	outspoken and frank (idiom)
心直嘴快	xīn zhí zuǐ kuài	frank and outspoken; straight speaking; to say what one thinks

These characters use 快 as their sound component — compare how they read.

Character	Pinyin	Meaning
快 sound part	kuài	speedy, rapid, quick; soon
筷	kuài	chopsticks