In Mandarin Chinese, 快 (Pinyin: kuài 🔊) is an adjective with many meanings: “fast”, “quick”, “sharp”, “clever”, “frank”, “straightforward”, “pleased”, “happy”. It is also used as an adverb meaning “soon” or “almost”.
According to Wiktionary, 快 is a phono-semantic compound of phonetic 夬 (guài) and semantic 忄, a radical form of 心, “heart/mind”.
Lawrence J. Howell writes in his Etymological Dictionary of Han/Chinese Characters:
As per 夬 (scoop out) + 心 heart/emotions → pleasant; comfortable (← heart with all the unpleasantness scooped out of it) → refreshing; enjoyable.
Compounds of 夬 include
- 快 + 人 = 快人 (kuàirén): a frank and open person
- 快 + 门 = 快门 (kuàimén): shutter (of a camera)
- 手 + 快 = 手快 (shǒukuài): fast; having quick hands
- 飞 + 快 = 飞快 (fēikuài): 1) razor sharp; 2) extremely fast, at lightning speed
- 大 + 快 + 人 + 心 = 大快人心 (dàkuàirénxīn): to everybody’s satisfaction
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