How to memorize Chinese characters
Date: 2015-10-07; view: 1070.
Max Plachynta
To swot Chinese characters as a clew of tangled wire is a hard and not very efficient way to memorize them. Luckily, Chinese characters are constructed of several dozens of components – radicals, each of which has its own specific name / meaning. It's not a problem to memorize simple, nice characters, like 来， 去， 个， 不， 本, 上, 下, 西， 东， 北， 南， 目, 日, 月， 白， 中， 女， 皮， 元， 力， 立， 门， 心， 天， 田， 司, 气， 黑， 工， 高， 后, 可, 户, 方, 囊J and so on, if not being retarded, of course; but for more complex, composed characters things are more grim. By inventing foolish, childish stories and jokes about the characters, a learner of Chinese language can facilitate the process of memorizing for himself/herself . Classical example - 好 hao (well, good; also an accessory word in many combinations): 女子 (woman) – is good, indeed, in many cases. Unfortunately, for loads of characters it's problematic to invent a joke or coherent story. For instance, what sense 意思 yisi (sense, meaning) does make placing a heart 心 xin under a field 田 tian； and why a heart 心 is under a sound 音 yin ( which in turn is also a puzzle – why someone needs to stand 立 li at the sun 日 ri and make sound)? Shall not we forget, that this language is more than 5 thousands years old, and since about that time they have been consuming big 大 da broad forest (广 guang + 林 lin), so we hardly can smoke as much as they've done to catch up with them. Also, the author knows what does “phonetic component” of the character mean, which just gives a hint about how that character might sound like. Also the author knows about simplification of characters (简化， 繁体字 fantizi / 简体字 jiantizi), which, thanks to gods and to Deng Xiaoping, took place in the mid-XX century。 Thus, my explanations of Chinese characters absolutely do not claim to be historically (and politically, lol) correct, it's nothing more than a mnemonic instrument. The text body is raw, lacks formatting and punctuation sometimes; work to be continued. I hope, this humble pile of turd I've produced will help some Chinese language learners in their studies, and will be a good laugh for Chinese readers.
Do not confuse the following pairs of similarly-looking radicals:
口 kou mouth, opening and 囗 wei fence
土 tu soil, earth and 士 shi soldier.
衣 yi clothes, dress and 农 nong agriculture
贝 bei shell (of a mollusk), and also money (because in ancient times shells were used as money) and 见 jian to see
人 ren human, man and 入 ru to enter
手 shou hand and 犭 = 犬 quan dog
衣 yi clothes and 农 nong agriculture, farming
衤=衣yi clothes and 礻= 示 shi to show, to demonstrate (also altar, cult; kinda demonstration to gods, what a lavish offerings we've brought to their altar)
寸 cun : inch, gage (in fact, the old Chinese measurement unit; 英寸 yingcun = English inch), and 才 cai skills, knack （天才 tiancai talent: skills gifted by Heaven; 人才 rencai: skilled worker(s)）
六 liu six and 穴 xue cave
七 qi seven and 匕 bi dagger, blade
力 li force, strength and 刀 （= 刂 ）dao knife (小刀) or sword (大刀)
八 ba eight and 儿 er son, kid
About 2 very oftenly seen radicals: something looking similar to Greek letter beta， β.
When this radical is on the left, it means 阜 fu hill or mountain (e.g., like in队 dui : crew or team of people). When on the right (e.g., like in邮 you : mail, post) - 邑 yi city. Indeed, city is not a city if it doesn't have bars，酒吧 jiuba
So when people 人 work together as a team队 dui, they are strong as a mountain .
夂 zhi: a very widespread radical in Chinese characters: «to go, to move».
Another often seen radical 辶zou/chuo has similar meaning: to go.
Note, than when seen at left part of the character, radical 月 sometimes means the Moon/month 月 yue, but sometimes it stands for abbreviation of 肉 rou meat, flesh. Therefore, characters for many anatomical organs contain this radical： 腿， 肌肉， 肌腱， 肥， 肺， 脏， 肠， 胳膊， 肤， 脖子， 等等
冬（天）dong(tian): winter. In winter we have to walk 夂 zhi on ice 冰 bing.
窗（口）chuang(kou)：window. From the opening 口 kou of our cave 穴 xue we can see somebody walking 夂 zhi.
（窗）帘 (chuang)lian： curtain, blind. Entrance to our cozy cave 穴 xue is curtained by some piece of cloth 巾 jing
(地)图 (di)tu：map, scheme, Window口kou to the winter 冬 dong. Gm.
间 jian: room, space, gap. Look into the doorgap 门 men – and see: there's something there like a little sun 日 ri, i.e. Edison's electric bulb lights.
房 fang: house. Yard 户 hu+ square, place 方 fang. Square house.
Profit: 房子 fangzi apartment, flat, living house; 房间 fangjian room
中间 zhongjian: in between
空间： kongjian: empty space
时 shi: time. I.e. movement of the Sun 日 across the sky, inch寸 cun after inch
Profit: 时间 shijian time (period of time)
简 jian: simple. Simple room 间 jian made of bamboo 竹 zhu, i.e. hut
Profit: 简单 jiandan (单-individual, separate, unit): simple, simply
挣（钱）zheng(qian): to earn money. I.e. to struggle, fight 争zheng for them using hands 手 shou。 With sweat and blood.
净 (干净）jing (ganjing): clean. fight 争 zheng for cleanness and purity of ice 冰 bing
阀 fa (阀门 famen): valve. as if a security guard man 人 ren with a spear 戈 ge stands in a doorgap 门 men, and functions as a valve: allows some to pass, and tells other to fuck off.
省 sheng: to save (money) (省钱 shengqian). This, my dear 好女子, is achieved through less 少 shao gawking with your eyes 目 mu at shopwindows full of useless glamorous shiny crap.
Also, quite strangely, this character means ‘province', for instance: 辽宁省 Liaoning sheng， 江苏省 Jiangsu sheng， 黑龙江省 Heilongjiang sheng。
体 ti: body. Both human body （身体 shenti）, and in physical sence. Human 人 ren + 本 ben this, given
本人 benren = 我 wo: me
笨 ben: stupid. One 本 ben is being stupid as a bamboo 竹 zhu.
Profit: 笨蛋 bendan (stupid egg): fool
夜 ye： night. At night, normal people人 ren sit at home under the roof and eat noodles with forks 叉 cha
Profit: 黑夜 heiye (black night): night
白天 baitian （white day/sky）: daytime.
码 ma: number （号码 haoma）, and also for some reason, berth, mooring (码头 matou). Stone 石 shi horse 马 ma, and its head 头 tou. Gm.
酒 jiu: alcohol, booze, product of fermentation. Water (氵=水 shui) + 酉 you jar.
Profit: 白酒 baijiu Chinese firewater
液 ye: liquid. At night 夜 ye water氵=水 shines so mysteriously in a moonlight
Profit: 液体 yeti liquid
牢 lao: solid, firm. Cow 牛niu under the roof of a firm, solid stable.
Profit: 坐牢zuolao to sit in jail, i.e. between firm 牢 walls
古 gu: ancient. Just looks like a grave, haha.
Profit: 古老 gulao ancient. 老 lao will be explained below.
固 gu: solid. Ancient 古 gu building has survived to nowadays because being surrounded by solid 固 gu barrage 囗 wei.
Profit: 牢固 laogu: solid, firm.
固体 guti: solid body (i.e. nor liquid nor gaseous).
朋 peng: friend. Poor little Moon 月 yue feels so lonely in the sky; if she'd only have a friend朋 - the second moon…
Profit: 朋友 pengyou friend
化 hua: to convert, to transform, to turn into. One person 人 ren turns 化 hua into seven 七 qi. Cloning?
Profit: 化学 huaxue: chemistry: the science about transformations
花 hua: flower. Sometimes humble grass 艹 cao flourishes and turns 化 hua into something beautiful.
Profit: 花心 huaxin light-minded.
花钱 hua qian to spend money
天花板 tianhuaban (board of sky flowers): ceiling
气 qi: gas.
Profit: 气体（的） qiti(de) gas, gaseous
生气 shengqi «to give birth to gas”. Means ‘to be angry'; not ‘to fart'. “To fart” is 放屁 fangpi
闭 bi - "closed". 门 men – door, and 才 cai is almost 材 cai - material, including building material (建材 jiancai). When on building site they want to stop people entering some doorway, they obstruct it with some woodboards etc.
团 tuan: organization, body. 才 cai (almost 材 cai) is stored within the barrage 囗 wei of some construction company yard. To prevent it from being stolen.
集 ji : to gather, collect; also union. 隹 zhui： bird, 木 mu– tree. Birds swarmed on a tree.
Profit: 集团jituan organization, corporation.
There are 2 radicals meaning ‘bird' in Chinese: 鸟 niao and 隹 zhui.
Eagle is the king of birds, therefore its name unites 2 these radicals, as he proudly sits under wide 广 guang awning: 鹰 ying (老鹰 laoying): an eagle
推 tui: to push. Someone has pushed a bird隹 zhui sitting on a branch, with a hand 手, and it flew away (or fell down, if asleep or drugged)
雀 que: sparrow. 少 shao: a little/few (in some cases – just 'little') and bird 隹 zhui. A little bird.
要 yao: to want, to need, to require, to be going to do (smth) (in combinations with other characters). On the top is «the West» 西 xi, at the bottom is «woman» 女 nv: when the Sun moves to the west, woman begins to want (i.e. to get horny) – by Misha Sopov
守 shou: "to guard, to protect". Tape measure ("inch") 寸 cun is stored under the warehouse roof. To protect it from being pilfered.
围 wei: fence, barrage. Stacks of tanned leathers 韦 wei are surrounded by a fence 囗 wei. Guess why.
Profit: 围栏 weilan: fence; 周围 zhouwei – around (smth)
始 shi : to begin, to start. Woman 女 nv besides smth resembling a house 台 tai （which in fact means platform, terrace, desk, counter）, i.e. beginning of family etc. etc.
Profit: 开始: kaishi to begin
苗 miao: sprouts, shoots. 田 tian field and 艹 cao (= 艸，草) grass
Profit: 猫 mao: cat. Left part - 犭（狗）gou dog, often can be seen in characters, meaning mammal animals. 苗 miao – sprouts, in this case is a phonetic part, i.e. just gives the idea about how the character might sound like.
Don't mistake 犭(=犬, quan, dog) with another very widely used radical 扌 =手 shou hand, (e.g. in 打 da (to hit, and also function word “to do”),
e.g. 打车 dache to catch car/taxi，打包 dabao takeaway food，打工 dagong do jobbing, temporary jobs，打电话 da dianhua to make a phonecall，打飞机 da feiji to wank，等等 etc. etc. )
Profit: 夜猫子 yemaozi ("night cat") ：night owl, night lifestyle type of person
草 cao : grass. Early 早 in the morning 早 zao grass艸 艹 cao is so green and fresh
章 zhang: chapter, article, paragraph. also stamp. To stand up 立 li (i.e. to leave bed, 起床 qichuang ) early 早 zao, in order to have time to read a chapter in a textbook.
Profit: 文章 wenzhang article, paper (in journal, in newspaper, in Internet, etc.)
肉 rou: meat. What is inside 内 nei of human 人 ren body? There is meat. 肉。
肏 cao: to fuck. To enter 入 ru into smbd'th meat 肉 rou plies and apertures.
Profit: 我肏 wocao! (I fuck!) - Shit! Fuck! Fucking hell!
Note: this is the proper real character for “fuck”. Another one which is used oftenly: 操 cao in fact means “to manipulate, to operate, to handle” (操作 caozuo), and is used merely as substitution for 肏, either for polite reasons, either if 肏 is not available in the given computer pinyin （拼音） input system.
因 yin：why, reason (in combinations). Someone thought that he's very big 大 and cool, thus now because 因为 of this he's locked within the fence 囗 wei.
旦 dan = dawn: the Sun 日 ri rises above horizon line.
Profit: 但 dan : but. It's dawned旦 dan already, but 但是danshi lazybone person 人 is still asleep.
讠 is simplification from 言 yan: speech, language, talk, information. Many characters related to information and processing\ transferring information in all kinds of ways, do have this radical.
E.g.: 记，话，说, 计， 诉，等。
言 just resembles speaking organ: a chin, two lips, and above – smth like a nose.
谁 shei: who. Information 讠+ bird 隹 zhui. What kind of bird is somebody?
吞 tun: to swallow. Some mouthes 口 kou are so voracious, that seem like can swallow the sky 天 tian
问 wen: question, to ask. Door 门 men + mouth 口 kou. By asking questions, we are opening door towards new information, blablabla
话 hua speach, talk, speak = 讠+舌 she tongue (anatomical organ)
计: to calculate, to plan
Profit: 说话 shuohua to speak, to talk。
设计 sheji: a plan, project; to plan
舌头 shetou: tongue (anatomical organ)
信 xin: letter, message, information. Humans 人 ren use 用 yong speech, language 言 yan to tell smth. to others
机 ji: device, machine, apparatus. Once upon a time all machines (e.g. catapults, trebuchets) could only be constructed of several (几个 jige) tree 木 mu trunks joined together.
哭 ku: to cry, to weep. Dog 犬 quan is wanted to be eaten by several gluttonous 南方人的 mouthes 口 kou, the dog is scared and weeps.
Or: two neighboring households with fences 囗, in one yard there's male dog weeping and howling, because it's impossible for him to mount a bitch dog locked inside the fence of the neighbor garden
器 qi: apparatus, similar to 机. 哭 ku to weep + two more mouthes. Some torture machine, apparently.
Profit: 机器 jiqi: apparatus, device.
灭 mie: to quench, smother, quell, eliminate. Fire 火 huo quenched by covering with smth, thus obstructing oxygen supply.
灭火机 miehuoji: fire extinguisher.
Sometimes humorous people scratch away two strikes, and comes 灭人机 mierenji， i.e. human extinguisher
它 ta: it (adverb for inanimate objects, plants and animals).
Dagger, knife 匕 bi lays under a roof and represents inanimate object. Also, it can be used to turn animate objects into inanimate.
蛇 she: snake. 虫 chong small invertebrate (worm, insect etc.) + 它 ta it. Soulless creep, cold reptile. Also, venomous snakes have ability to turn animate objects to inanimate.
Profit: 虫子 chongzi：small invertebrate (worm, insect etc.)
看 kan: to watch, to see. Eye 目 mu + hand 手 shou; when one is looking, he or she kind of grabs information with eyes, like by hands.
Profit: 看见 kanjian : to see.
我看不懂: wo kan bu dong - I don't understand (written text)
狱 yu : prison, jail. Someone was using speech/ information 讠= 言 yan too naughtily, now he's in jail, between guard dogs 犭， 犬 quan
Profit: 监狱 jianyu : prison, jail
喜欢 xihuan to like.
e.g.: 我喜欢(什么的) wo xihuan (shenmede) I like (something). Me gusta.
Character 喜 xi looks pretty horrible, but if we analyze it, it consists of 口 kou mouth, 豆 dou beans and 士 shi soldier. Canned baked beans in tomato sauce for troops.
Don't mix 士shi soldier with 土 tu earth, soil, ground
坐 zuo： to sit. Two people 人ren sit on the ground 土 tu（by 高慧）
罚 fa: penalty, punishment. Upper part stands for 网 wang (network, meshwork, in direct and indirect sense; Internet: 网络 wangluo), 讠 speech, information, and 刂 = 刀 dao knife. Fisherman has set his net in restricted pond of local tycoon, feudal 土豪 tuhao, but was caught. Now he may be strictly scolded, at best; or cold steel might be involved.
Profit: 罚金fajin: penalty, fine, charge。
金 jin – metal (金属 jinshu);
Gold = yellow metal 黄金 huangjin,
Dosh, dough, cash, money: 金钱 jinqian
刑 xing: also penalty, but more towards strict side (死刑 sixing – death penalty). I. e. opening开 various body cavities with a knife 刂 = 刀dao - an art in which ancient China penitentiary organs were really expert
Profit: 刑罚 xingfa punishment；刑法 xingfa Criminal Code
罪 zui: crime (罪行 zuixing). Again, a fisherman has set his net 网/罓 wang in the place where he should not 非 fei do it.
In Chinese there's quite a few characters meaning negation and variations of negation
不 bu, 非 fei, 莫 mo, 勿 wu, 免 mian, 无 wu, 未 wei, 否 fou。。。
付 fu: to pay (付钱 fuqian) : some person 人 ren has bought a tapemeasure (inch 寸 cun) and paid for it
政府 zhengfu: officials, authorities, government (of all levels), i.e. comrades going 夂zhi the straight and righteous 正 zheng way (政 zheng = politics); and all laymen are supposed to come to their broad 广 guang domed tent and pay 付 fu them cash
沿 yan: along. Along the banks of muddy water (氵=水 shui) stream there are several 几个 jige openings 口 kou, and industrial sewage shit runs from them
纵 zong: also along. Silk 丝 si+ 从 cong from.
从cong From. =人 ren +人 ren
到 dao to, towards, until: 至 zhi towards, in direction of + 刂 = 刀 dao knife.
Unfortunately, some couples and communities make all the the way from从 人+人 to 到 刀.
Profit: 从（time / place）到 (time / place) – very useful pattern
Noteworthy, in Chinese characters there's a lot of radicals meaning cold weapons and military actions: 刂 / 刀dao, 殳 yi, 弓 gong, 匕 bi, 弋 yi, 戈 ge,斤 jin, etc…
加 jia: to add. Mouth 口 kou eats, and adds body with strength 力 li.
班 ban: work, workshift. Two egocentric topmanagers both feel as a kings 王 wang in a company, and figuratively (or practically) sharpening knives 刀 dao against each other.
Profit: 上班 shangban to start work shift; 下班 xiaban – to finish work shift. 加班 jiaban – to work overtime.
横 heng: across. Fallen tree 木 mu blocks a road in the forest. It has yellow 黄 huang wilted leaves for obvious reasons.
纵横 zonghuang: along and across. Entangled; also to plough the area all and over
纵横四海 to travel all and over the world
叫 jiao: to call, also to be named. In USSR everyone knew what number to call to report cooking gas smell / leakage: 04.
Profit: 我叫Max: My name is Max.
公 gong: public. 厶 si private, personal + 八 ba eight. When a group of people gathers, their private affairs become more like public affairs
交 jiao : interaction, communication, interlink, intercourse. Father 父 fu under roof.
公交 gongjiao: public transport. 公交车 gongjiaoche public bus, coach
口交 koujiao: oral sex
园 yuan: any territory surrounded by fence (park, industrial park, school campus, etc.)
Yuan 元 yuan lies within the fence 口 wei, otherwise it will be stolen.
短 duan: short. Unlike an arrow 矢 shi, the bean 豆 dou is short.
库 ku: warehouse, storehouse. A vehicle 车 che under broad 广 guang tent.
Profit: 车库 cheku garage; 仓库 canku warehouse, boxroom.
Add to 库 ku radical 衤(= 衣 yi, clothes), and obtain trousers, pantalones 裤子 kuzi, or pants 裤头 kutou, or inner trousers 内裤 neiku / 秋裤 qiuku（内 nei- inside, inner; 秋 - autumn）, or shorts 短裤 duanku. What is stored in that store then?
的 de: the most frequently used Chinese character. Adjective/pronoun suffix (你 – 你的； 大海 – 大海的)。 White 白 bai spoon 勺子 shaozi. Hm.
献 xian: to donate. Southern 南 nan dogs 犬 quan often donate their flesh to 广东人.
Profit: 献血 xianxue: to donate blood; 文献 wenxian literature (scientific or technical), articles
默 mo: quiet, silent. Silent and grim black 黑 hei dog 犬 quan
难 nan: difficult, hard. It's difficult to catch again 又 you released bird 隹.
Also, radical 又 means «hand». So it's obviously difficult to catch a bird with a hand.
道 dao: way, road, path, route, both in direct and esotherical meaning (dao). To go, to progress 辶 zou + 首 shou the head. On the road it helps a lot to keep one's head and brains switched on, yeah.
选 xuan: to choose. The one who has arrived辶 zou the first 先 xian to smorgasbord, buffet or another place with bonuses, can choose what to pick, and not only content oneself with leftovers
明 ming: clear, light, bright, transparent. Sun 日 ri + Moon 月 yue.
Profit: 明白 mingbai (to understand, to realize): 明 + 白 white.
明白了 / 我明白。
聪 cong: clever. Clever person always 总 zong stays alert, i.e. keeps ears 耳 er open; or as is said in Russian, stays prick-eared..
Profit: 聪明 congming clever
耳聋 erlong： deaf. A dragon 龙 long has roared into somebody's 耳 er ear so loudly, that the ear has deafened.
文 wen: text, language (more refers to written language), writings, culture.
文明 wenming: civilized behavior
件 jian: an object, thing, stuff. Human 人 ren and bull/cow 牛 niu. Gm.
Compare with 物 wu （牛niu cow + 勿 do not!）: also an object, thing, stuff.
Lots of profit: 物品 wupin article of trade, good, ware;
动物 dongwu (i.e. moving stuff) animal;
植物 zhiwu plant, vegetation
文件 wenjian: document, file (including printed document and computer file)
明天 mingtian: tomorrow. Clear future. Word “tomorrow” is our answer to most of problems and challenges of life )))
昨天 zuotian: yesterday. Day, when the Sun 日 ri already has done 作 zuo its job.
软 ruan: soft. Cars 车 che lack 欠 qian softness, it's worth to remember this on the road.
Profit: 软件 ruanjian: computer software, computer program/s
硬（的）ying(de)： solid, hard. More 更 geng hard than stone 石 shi.
滑 hua: to slip, slippery. On a wet (氵=水 shui) floor it's easy to fall down and break bones 骨头 gutou
Profit: 滑头 huatou "slippery head" = shrewd, sneaky
人太滑头就会引到坏自己的骨头 ;)
油 you： oil. Water 氵 shui + reason 由 you. Just remember it.
Profits:
自由(的) ziyou(de)（reason to oneself）- freedom, free
汽油 qiyou (steam + oil) gasoline
加油 jiayou (add oil) – to fill fuel tank. Also: «come on, cheer up!»
汽车 qiche passenger car
石油 shiyou (stone 石 shi + oil 油 you): oil (the black one, in earth crust)
机油 jiyou (apparatus 机 ji + oil 油 you) mechanism oil
滑油 huayou (to slip 滑 hua + oil 油 you) lubricant
俗 su : common, folk (speech, expression, etc.). I.e. people 人 living in a mountain valley 谷 gu, âäàëåêå îò áîëüøèõ ãîðîäîâ, òàì ãäå íåò äîðîãèõ áóòèêîâ.
Profit: 俗话 suhua, proverb, also colloquialism
休息 xiuxi: to have a rest. When a man 人 ren has a rest, he either sleeps like a log of wood 木 mu, either does whatever what his own 自 zi heart 心 xin wants.
自 zi，自己 ziji: self, by oneself.
自行车 zixingche (self-go-vehicle): bicycle
自由 ziyou (self-reasoned）- freedom, free
轨 gui: rails, track. Nine 九 jiu cars 车 che passed by the road and left track. Alternatively – nine train carriages on the rails.
Profit: 轨道 guidao, railway
小心 xiaoxin： be careful! i.e. have small heart, don't fuck around (by writer Vadim Chekunov)
狭窄 xiazhai，窄小 zhaixiao: narrow, constrained, cramped. Like a dog 狗 gou squeezed夹 jia in a cave 穴 xue, where it's hard to do 作 zuo anything.
Profit:
小心夹手 Be careful not to get hand squeezed!
文件夹 wenjian jia file folder, computer directory.
触 chu: to touch. To touch an insect虫子 chongzi with an angle 角 jiao i.e. with a tip of a stick or whatever.
Profit: 角 jiao = horn, angle, corner; also = 1/10th of 1 元人民币。 Another, colloquial name of 1/10th of 1 元人民币 (= 10 Chinese pence ) is mao 毛 mao = hair, wool
老毛子 laomaozi （hairy one） - slang word for Russians in North-Eastern part of China 东北 dongbei。
敌人 diren：an enemy. Too long tongue 舌头 shetou sometimes creates us enemies, indeed.
妨碍 fangai: to hinder, to hamper, to obstruct. Women 女 nv sometimes do hinder us to sit calmly plainly in one place 方 fang. A rock 石 shi prevents hot summer Sun 日 ri from heating and melting tapemeasure (寸 cun = inch; 英寸 yingcun – English inch)
国 guo : country, state. The state treasury, jade玉 yu (really beautiful royal 王wang kind of jewel) is stored within a fence口 wei, otherwise it will be stolen
Profit: 玉米 yumi: maize: jade corn/ seed.
大米 dami: rice. Big (i.e. very important) for Oriental peoples' lifestyle corn/seed
Also, by the the way, 米 mi = meter (i.e. 100 centimeters), was appointed to mean this in the last century just coz' sounds similar
老 lao："old, ancient, respectable”. Very important character in Chinese language. Up is Earth, ground, soil: 土 tu ; under is 匕 bi "dagger, knife". If a dagger is found under earth, it's quite likely to be old, isn't it?
Many profits, e.g.: 古老 gulao ancient, 老外 laowai (old + outside) laowai J
By the way, laowai is not an ancient colloquial word for foreigner; as far as I've read, it was coined only in the 2nd half of XX century
外国人 waiguoren (person from outside country) foreigner
家 jia: Very important character in Chinese language and culture: home, family, nest. Radical ‘pig' 豕shi (obsolete, rare, not commonly used nowadays character) under the roof. Country home, farm.
– by Misha Sopov
Lots of profits:
国家 guojia a country, state
大家 dajia everyone
回家 huijia to go/come back home
(在)家里 (zai) jiali at home
老家 laojia (old home)， 家乡: jiaxiang (home village) Motherland, hometown, the place on Earth where you are from
家具 jiaju: furniture. Home 家 jia tools/instruments 具 ju.
工具 gongju: tool, instrument. Work 工 gong + instrument 具 ju
阳 yang (β at the left is radical for 阜 fu mount/hill + 日 ri the Sun, day) – Yang: male active principle, as opposed to Yin 阴.
太阳 taiyang (the Great Yang) – the Sun
阴 yin (阜 fu + 月 yue the Moon) – Yin, female principle, dark, slimy and moist ))))
阳具: yangju penis/ dildo
阴道: yindao (Yin way) vagina
英 ying outstanding, remarkable. Britain, England 英国 yingguo undoubtedly is the outstanding country with remarkable language 英文 yingwen / 英语 yingyu
英 ying character is composed of radical ‘grass' 艹 cao above symbol ‘the center' 央 yang
中央 zhongyang – central
中国 zhongguo China, the central state (as they think)
中心 zhongxin (central heart) – center, in the meaning “service center, medical center, etc”.
晚 wan: evening; also - late. 免 mian «without» 日 ri the sun. Clear.
免费 mianfei: for free, no charge
费 fei: fee, rent, payment. Buddha 佛 fo above 贝 bei filthy lucre.
安 an: safety, safe. Woman under the roof
晚安 wan an good night
安全 anquan: safety. 安 an + 全 quan whole, complete (king 王 wang under the roof)
安全第一 anquan di yi – ‘safety first' slogan and principle.
波 bo （波浪 bolang） ：wave (not only wave on water, but also electromagnetic, sound wave, etc.). Wrinkled by the wind skin 皮 pi of water 氵=水 shui
旦 dan: dawn, sunrising. 日 ri above horizon line. Not that oftenly used character, but 但 is a part of several very useful characters:
但 dan: but. The Sun has risen already, but 但是 danshi lazyass person 人 ren (e.g. me) is still asleep.
担心 danxin : to worry, to concern
坦克 tanke tank, military machine
查 cha: to check. The Sun has risen 旦 dan, now the things can be seen clearly enough to check 检查 jiancha the condition of wood board 木 mu, isn't it rotten etc.
香 xiang: odour, flavour, smell (pleasant one). The crop/harvest 禾 he of some fragrant herbs is being dried at the sun 日 ri and smells great.
泵 beng: pump (水泵 shuibeng). Stone/ piece of rock 石 shi won't float in the water 水 shui just by itself, to lift it to the surface requires applying force/energy. Pump creates pressure difference, i.e. potential; which is physically similar action with lifting the stone to the water surface
终 zhong: final (station, edited document version, etc.), When winter 冬 dong comes, silk 丝 si production stops. The Winter is coming.
Profit: 终于 zhongyu finally at last. 终于是周五
初 chu : beginning, start. Tailoring fabric with a knife 刀 dao is a start for piece of clothing （衤 = 衣 yi）
尘土 chentu (also 灰尘 huichen: grey dust): dust. Small 小 xiao bits of soil 土 tu
尖 jian: sharp. Sharp objects are sharp because they have small 小 / thin point/edge and big大 i.e. thick base.
歪的 waide: curved, crooked, wry, bent (object, not person ))). I.e. not 不 bu straight 正 zheng.
患 huan: to suffer. As if the heart 心 xin is being roasted on skewers 串 chuan.
Profit: 患者 huangzhe patient (ill person being treated)
隐患： phantom / hidden menace
隐: to hide. In a hurry 急 ji (profit: 着急 zhaoji to hurry) to hide stuff behind a mountain β = 阜 fu , otherwise it will be stolen or discovered by police.
温 wen（度）du : temperature. The Sun 日 ri shines over a vessel/tank 皿 min with water 氵=水 shui, and water temperature rises.
Profit: 器皿 qimin： dishware, tableware, vessels, pots, etc.
度 du – grade, centigrade, suffix for many physical parameters. Just memorize it, a lot of profit:
温度 wendu temperature，长度 changdu length，高度 gaodu height，etc. etc.
联 lian : link, relationships (including social contacts/relationships). Ear 耳 er + 关 guan : to close/ but also “to connect”
取 qu: to take. To take one's ear 耳 er with a hand 又 you
能 neng: to be able to; “can”, power. The moon月 yue, private 厶 si business, and two daggers 匕 bi. Almost “lock, stock, and two smoking barrells”
硕 shuo （士 shi）: university graduate, Master, MSc. The knowledge that he/she has obtained should be as solid as if carved on stone 石 shi pages 页 ye, as Ten Commandments.
岁 sui: years of age. Sunset 夕 xi and mountain 山 shan. I.e. how many sunsets and mountains has person seen. “…I climbed a million hills, for years and years I roamed…” ©
删 shan: to remove, to delete. Album 册 ce and radical ‘knife' 刀 dao, clear
被 bei： quilt (and also one of passive case indicators): “clothes” （衤=衣 yi） + 皮 pi leather/skin/hide.
破 po: to tear, to break, to severe. A rock 石 shi breaks the skin 皮 pi.
懂 dong： "to understand, to realize". In the middle is the old variant of 车 che "car, vehicle, carriage", on top is 艹 "grass", left is radical 心 xin "heart". One drives vehicle stoned (“under grass”), and with heart feels everything, understands everything.
岛 dao: island. Bird 鸟 niao above the mountain 山 shan, which protrudes from the sea.
屄 bi：cunt. 穴 xue -a cave in 尸 shi – human body / corpse
Profit: 傻屄 / 二屄 : shabi / erbi stupid cunt, prick . 比如 普京
牛屄 niubi (cow's cunt): cool! wicked!
你太牛屄了！ni tai niubile - you're fucking cool!
尿 niao: urine. 尸 shi – human body, 水 shui - water.
屎 shi - shit. 米 mi – corn, seed. We, fucking animals, can deliver only that kind of corn.
婪 tan - "greedy". On top is ‘forest' 林 lin, on bottom – 女 nv, woman. Women are deficient in the woods, so men who live there are greedy for them
臭 chou : "stinky". on top is 自 zi，"self", on bottom is - 犬 quan，"dog". Stinky dog ))
忍 ren: "to endure, to bear". Blade 刃 ren above heart 心 xin.
秋 qiu: autumn. 禾 he,"crop / harvest" and 火 huo，"fire". At autumn farmer should be quick to reap cereals, otherwise it can caught fire.
楼 lou building, house: a place, where man keeps his woman 女 nv, his corn 米 mi and his timber 木 mu (by John Porter)
稳 wen: stable. If farmer will hurry 急 ji and timely reaps the crop 禾 he, then harvest will be stable. Otherwise...
Profit: 稳定 wending stable; 不稳定 buwending unstable
愁: chou "sorrow". Autumn 秋 qiu above heart 心 xin. Clear.
忙 mang: busy. Heart on the left 心 xin + 亡 wang to die, to decay. Work kills, yep.
忘 wang: to forget. At bottom is heart 心 xin + 亡 wang to die. Memory of smbdy/ smthng died in one's heart. Forget.
怕 pa: fear, to be afraid. From the frightened heart 心 xin all blood ran to feet, so face became pale, white 白 bai.
Profit: 害怕 haipa to be afraid.
瞎 xia: blind. Eye 目 mu + 害 hai: damage.
Profit: 瞎话 xiahua: lie, bullshit.
盲 mang: also blind. Eye 目 mu + to die 亡 wang.
触 chu: to touch. To touch an insect 虫 chong with a corner 角 jiao (i.e. with the tip) of pincers, or shoe.
孤 gu: lonely. Baby 子 zi little melon 瓜 gua feels so lonely at a field
独 du: separate, alone. To be lonely feels as sad as to be a stray dog 狗 gou or even an insect 虫 chong.
Profit: 孤独的 gudude： lonely; 孤儿 guer: orphan
单独的 dandude: separate, individual, alone-standing
灾 zai: disaster. When the fire 火 huo is out of control under the roof 灾, it's disaster
Profit: 水灾 shuizai flood, 火灾 huozai fire (disaster)
闲 xian: "idle". What has a tree 木 mu to do in a door opening 门 men?? It's idle and out of place there.
宿 su: to spend night (in, at). One hundred 百 bai people 人 ren has stayed for a night under one roof.
Profit: 宿舍 sushe: dormitory (students' or working) (舍 she: a hut, shed: 舌 she tongue (anatomical) under a roof）
住宿 zhusu: cheap hotel, flophouse, student fuckadrome
鲜 xian: "fresh". Fresh sheep 羊 yang and fish 鱼 yu on a market
湿 shi: wet, moist. The Sun 日 ri shines above Asia 亚 ya (or above working 业 ye people), and they sweat (氵 "water at the left").
Sweat: 汗 han. People do (干 gan, + other meanings) some work， and a liquid 氵 runs from them
出汗 chuhan: to sweat
晕 yun： "dizzy”, also “high (from drugs)". The Sun 日 ri ruthlessly shines over army troops 军 jun, and soldiers are kinda high on a brink of heatshock.
头晕 touyun: dizziness, to feel dizzy
浑 hun: "dirty, muddy". Army 军 jun units passed through country dirtroads, wet and soaked after a rain, and with wheels and caterpillars have turned it to total mire. For Russians this character should be very obvious.
恶 e: bad, evil, nauseous, disgusting. Asia 亚 ya (亚洲 yazhou) on heart 心 xin. Alas, sad bit of truth is present there indeed.
恶心 exin: nausea, to feel like to puke
饿 e: hungry. 我 wo "me" è 食 = 饣 shi "to eat" . Me wants eat, pliz giv me eat.
劳 lao : "work, labour". Radical 艹 cao "grass", then some unknown cap, then 力 li "force, power". Under weed work flies )))
库 ku: warehouse, storage. Vehicle is being stored inside some building, namely – garage 车库 cheku
动 dong: to move, movement. Cloud 云 yun, and force 力 li applied to it (apparently, wind force), which makes cloud move.
Profit: 电动车 diandongche (electricity-move-vehicle): nowadays, in China, electric scooter in most of the cases
移 yi: also movement. A lot 多 duo of crops 禾 he; hence, it's necessary to move part of it to another areas of a country, where it's scarce.
利 li: profit, success, usefulness, etc. Crops 禾 he on a field and sickle /knife 刀 dao to reap it – are the factors of profit and success.
男 nan: male. Labour power 力 li for field 田 tian works. Asia…
泉 quan : source of water, spring, fountain. White 白 bai clean water 水 shui
熊 xiong: a bear. A bear can (能 neng) cause a lot of mayhem when frightened with fire (火，灬 huo).
杰 jie: hero, outstanding. Teenage drunken outstanding heroes sometimes do set wooden 木 mu objects on fire (灬 = 火 huo)
解 jie: to untie, to separate, to disunite. At butchery a cow 牛 niu is being waited for by someone round the corner 角 jiao with a knife 刀 dao, to be disunited.
确 que: sure, reliable. As cornerstone 角 jiao 石 shi in a building should be; i.e. as keystone.
确定 queding: for sure ; 不确定 buqueding： not for sure
Also, similar: 一定 yiding / 不一定 buyiding
跌 die: to triple, to fall. I.e. to lose 失 shi base beneath one's foot 足 zu.
远 yuan: far, far away. To go 辶 zou far, you need dosh 元 yuan.
预 yu: beforehand, for future. A kid 子 zi sooner or later will grow up and will be able to read a page 页 ye in a book, not just rip it to pieces, smear with snivel and squiggle with pencils.
烦 fan: problems, trouble, annoyance, pain in the ass. What else can fire 火 huo give to a paper page 页 ye?
保 bao: "to protect, to save". Some person 人 ren must look after an idiot 呆 dai, to protect others (and idiot himself) from his stupid behaviour.
爱 ai: "love". Something in a way related to friendship 友 you, but with claws 爪 zhua on the top…
暖 nuan: "warm, warmness". The Sun 日 ri warms the Earth with it's love 爱 .
和 he: "peace", "and". Crops 禾 he and 和 he mouth 口 kou are made for each other.
兵 bing: "soldier" – is a concept quite closely connected with grave mound/ hill 丘 qiu
士兵 shibing： soldier
研 yan：to research, to study, to investigate; and also – to grind, to mill. Stone 石 shi and to open 开 yan, i.e. to grind the rock to see what's inside of it.
Profit: 研究 yanjiu: to research, to investigate. Nine 九 jiu people in a cave 穴 xue grinding the stones, surely they'll dig something out.
累 lei tired, to be tired. A man was working in a field 田 tian and producing silk 糸 mi, now he's tired and takes some 白酒.
雷 lei thunder. Rain 雨 yu on a field 田 tian, i.e. thunderstorm.
Profit: 地雷 dilei landmine， 水雷 shuilei water mine
困 kun to be sleepy; also (in combinations) smth associated with hardship
a tree 木 mu grows surrounded by a high fence 囗 wei, so can't see anything interesting, not having fun, so being sleepy.
Profit: 困了 kunle sleepy, sleep deprived；困难 kunnan difficult
烟 yan smoke. Because / the reason 因 yin of fire 火 huo。There's no smoke without fire.
Profit:香烟 xiangyan cigarettes；抽/吸烟 chouyan/ xiyan to smoke.
锁 suo lock, to lock up. Dosh 贝 bei with its shine 光 guang can attract bastards, thus， they (either money either bastards) should be locked up with a metal （钅 = 金 jin） padlock.
开锁 kaisuo to unlock,
锁好 suohao to lock up; 锁好的 suohaode locked up
算 suan to plan, to calculate, to estimate. Arms crossed 廾 gong proudly on a chest, in Napoleonian manner, above – a noddle with a sneaky eye 目 mu, and above – just a wood, empty bamboo 竹 zhu.
驱 qu to drive somebody / something away. Some stupid stallion/stud 马 ma was too misbehaving at some district/area 区 qu, which ended up in him being banished away.
障 zhang “to hinder, to hamper”. A mount 阜 fu hinders a schoolkid from a small village to walk miles to a school and read chapter 章 zhang of a textbook
嘴 zui mouth (rude)
Profit: 闭嘴! bizui shut up! I.e. right now close闭 bi this 此 ci your mouth 口 kou, otherwise I'll break your horn 角 jiao.
间谍 jiandie a spy. Sits high on a tree 木 mu, observes the world 世界 shijie/ space 间 jian, and reports the informatiom 讠 to appropriate services.
夺 duo （夺取 duoqu，夺去 duoqu） to take away something from somebody, in combinations – to rob. One guy had a tapemeasure / ruler (寸 cun: inch), but another, big 大 da guy came and took it away
蚀 shi （腐蚀 fushi） ： to corrode. Acid corrodes metal as if some insects 虫子 gnaw, eat 饣=食 shi it.
耻 chi: shame, disgrace, dishonor.
无耻的 wuchide: shameless.
The person which is not shameless (i.e. tactful one), stops 止 zhi his/her ears 耳 er , not to hear some loathsome or private information
限 xian: border, limit. Firm 艮 gen mountain β=阜 fu demarks the border between two kingdoms
笼子 longzi: cage. Mother of Dragons has locked her naughty pet dragon 龙 long into a cage 笼子, made of bamboo 竹 zhu. Will it work?
沙漠 shamo: desert. A lot of sand 沙 sha, but very few 少 shao water 氵=水 shui, or no 莫 mo water 氵=水 shui at all.
大沙漠 da shamo: Great Desert, Gobi
召 zhao: gathering, rally. A knife 刀 dao over mouthes 口 kou to keep them shut. Asian democracy.
人群 renqun: group of people. In a croud many of us begin to behave stupidly, turning from decent humans 君子 junzi to sheep 羊 yang, or as Russians say – to herd of rams, which is metaphore for being stupid and ignorant crowd, which blindfully follows their fuhrer.
穷 qiong: poor, skint, with no money. This sometimes happens to people, who hid their strength 力 li, i.e. their talent into a cave 穴 xue (there's a Biblical saying and tale about this).
-------------------------------
待续。
To be continued.
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