HSK Writing-Low

jìng

clean [adj.]
冫 + 争zhēng
ice + contend

clean the ice before the hockey contention

wén

literature, *gentleman farmer
亠 + 乂
top hat + sheaf

top hat on a literate gentleman farmer

rain

alternative breakdown: 一+冂+丨+4丶 ceiling + hood + stick + 4 drops

derivative: ⻗ *weather

how many?, *wind

derived from: 风fēng wind/windstorm

jiè

borrow
亻 + 昔
persona + times past

Is your persona someone you could count on in times past for borrowing/loaning?

yuè

month, *body part/moon

body part when on left, moon when on right

“月字旁”

derivative: 夕 *evening

eight, *animal legs

eight can be /divided and /divided again

a spider has eight animal legs

clothing

modified version: 衤 ; derivatives: 𧘇 *scarf, *𧘇 *kerchief, 长 long

háng

a business, *intersection

alternatively: 彳+一+丁 queue + one/ceiling + nail, queue at the hardware business to buy the one nail available

When this character separates its left and right halves and there is another component in the middle, we'll call it "boulevard."

yòu

again, *right hand raised

ancient meaning of this character was "right hand", which it still retains as a component

derivative: 乃 *fist

gān

dry [adj.], *clothesline

inside, *computer

in the movie Inside Out, emotions are stored in something like a computer

alternative breakdown: 田+土 field + soil; anciently, a li was a measurement of distance one could use to measure a field

nín

you [respectful]
你nǐ + 心
you + heart

show respect to the “you” from the heart

also, *scorpion

chà

fall short of
⺶ + 工
wool + I-beam

if you have wool over your eyes, you might fall short of the next I-beam

shào

acquaint
纟 + 召zhào
thread + summon

Take the end of a thread to summon a new friend in a get acquainted game.

cái

genius, *genie

ér

son, *human legs

ne

[grammar particle]
口 + 尼ní
mouth + nun

starting sound of nun

huǒ

fire [n.]

derivative: 灬 cooking fire

grasp [v.]
扌 + 巴bā
hand + boa

grasp the boa with your hand to kill it

shuǐ

water [n.], *pool of water

derivatives: 氵*water, 冫*ice, 氺 *snowflake

kǎo

take an exam
耂lǎo + 丂kǎo
old man + broken bow/5

old man is the proctor of the SAT exam, all he says is “5 minutes”

old man Confucius scores a perfect 5 on the exam

gōng

work [n.], *I-beam

derivative: *经 *crane

ròu

meat

originally a picture of meat

alternative breakdown: 冂+人+人 hood + person + person

a person hanging in a meat locker with a hood over their head

kǒu

mouth

“口字旁”“口字底”

ba

[grammar particle]
口 + 巴bā
mouth + boa

starting sound of boa

female, *woman

wǎng

net [n.]

modified version: 罒; alternative breakdown: 冈gāng+乂 ridge + sheaf/X OR 冂+乂+乂 hood + sheaves

shí

ten, *needle

shù

tree
木 + 对
tree + that's right

environmentalist demanding the rights of the trees

day, *sun

nán

south
十 + 冂 + ¥
ten/needle + hood + RMB

gang in the south: drugs, hoods, money

niú

cow

modified versions: 牜 ⺧

lóu

multistory building
木 + 娄lóu
wood + bride

throwing rice on the bride from the second story of a wooden building

four
西 - 一
west - one

one of the four directions is 西 xī west

a picture of four vertical lines connected on the top

thirsty
氵 + 曷hé
water + siesta

wake up from your siesta thirsty, need water

rén

person

derivatives: 亻 *persona, 𠂉 *lying down

hold [v.]
合 + 手
fit + hand

you can hold something when it fits in your hand

fēi

non-, *jail cell

one, *ceiling/floor

chē

vehicle

derivative: 㐄 *unicycle

wood, *tree

five

Can you see the Arabic numeral 5 in this character? or an upside down 4 plus some

shǒu

hand

modified versions: 扌龵 *hand; derivatives: 开 *open hands, 廾 *two hands, 寸 *thumb

xiàng

orientation
丶 + 冂 + 口
drop + hood + mouth

antenna on alien with only a mouth, so he has to ask for orientation

mén

gate

jiǔ

liquor
氵 + 酉
water + whiskey bottle

it's not water in the whiskey bottle

le

[-ed], *completed
子 - 一
child - [its arms]

the swaddling is completed when the arms of the child stay tucked in

èr

two
一 + 一
one + one

sān

three
一 + 二
one + two

liù

six
亠 + 八
top hat + eight

top hats go out at six and return at eight

jiǔ

nine
十 + 乚
ten + hook

nine hooks into ten

shēng

life, *seed
丶 + 龶
drop + grow up

picture of a seed on a plant

xīng

star
日 + 生shēng
sun + life/seed

to ancients, a star may seem like just a seed of the sun

shàng

above
卜 + 一
magic wand + floor

magic wand hovering above the floor

xià

below
一 + 卜
ceiling + magic wand

magic wand hovering below the ceiling

no, *no symbol
一 + 丿 + 卜bǔ
ceiling + slash + magic wand

alternatively: 下 + 丿 below + slash

zuò

sit
人 + 人 + 土
person + person + soil

people sitting on the soil

zài

at
𠂇 + 丨 + 土
by one's side + stick + soil

 Brigham Young, first governor of Utah, puts his stick in the soil and declares the Salt Lake Valley as “the place” for settlement.

míng

bright
日 + 月
sun + moon

The sun and the moon are the two bright things in the sky.

zuó

yesterday
日 + 乍zuò
day + saw

Saw away yesterday, tomorrow will be a brighter day.

zǒu

walk
土 + 龰
soil + trail of footprints

leave a trail of footprints in the soil when you walk

“走字旁”

go
土 + 厶
soil + monument

go to the monument on a soil path

shì

is
旦 + 龰zhǐ
daybreak + trail of footprints

Picture yourself at daybreak at the beach drawing this character in the sand with your feet.

jīn

now, *clock
8 + h
meeting + “hands of clock”

meeting at 6:45, now!

lái

come
一 + 米
one + rice

come one, come all, get your free rice

large, *large dog
人 + 一
person + “arms"

a person trying to make themself look large by spreading out their arms

When 大 appears as a component, it is often derived from 犬 dog, so in these cases we'll call it a "large dog" in our stories.

tiān

heavens
一 + 大
ceiling + large

large person grows and grows until his head reaches the ceiling and then the heavens

noon
𠂉 + 十
lying down + needle

Every day at noon, you must lie down and give yourself a shot with a needle.

nián

year
午 + 匚
noon + box

Sleep in till noon on New Year’s day, then start checking the boxes of your New Year’s resolutions.

bái

white
丶 + 日
drop + sun

a drop of sunshine: white light

bǎi

hundred
一 + 白bái
one + white

hair turns white at 100

Japanese call age 99 your "white year" because 100-1(百-一)=99(白)

西

west, *Wild West
酉 - 一
whiskey bottle - “whiskey”

empty whiskey bottle on the streets of the Wild West

that
刀 + 二 + 阝
knife + two + city walls

point with a knife to that city (the other, the second)

fāng

direction, *compass
丶 + 万
drop + ten thousand

ten thousand directions on a compass, moves by a drop

can [aux. v.]
丁 + 口
nail + mouth

“I think I can, I think I can” Little Engine spitting nails

jiě

older sister
女 + 且qiě
woman + shelves

older sister, named Jenna, has her shelf of books you can’t touch

older brother
可 + 可kě
can + can

older brother doing the can-can

nán

male
田 + 力
field + power/*muscle

males are more field power

guǒ

fruit
田 + 木
field + tree

fruit orchard: a field of trees

alternatively: 日+木 sun + tree, need sun to ripen the fruit on the trees

míng

name [n.]
夕 + 口
evening + mouth

father whispering his baby's name at night

shouting names of kids to bring them home in evening

call out your name in the evening, so they know who is approaching

character
宀 + 子zǐ
house + child

child practicing characters at home

individual
𠆢 + 丨
umbrella + stick

express individual style through your umbrella: Gene Kelly “Singin’ in the Rain”

alternatively: 人 + 丨 person + stick: maybe you are counting people, maybe sticks

hǎo

good
女 + 子
woman + child

woman with her child is good

jiā

home
宀 + 豕
house + sow

house on stilts with pigs underneath

yǒu

possess
𠂇 + 月
by one's side + body part/moon

you possess the body parts by your side  

Despicable Me villain wants to possess the moon

John Swigert Jr. was one of the astronauts on the Apollo 13 moon mission.

shén

what
亻 + 十shí
persona + ten/needle

What in the world is going on here? (sees persona with needle)

me

[suffix]
丿 + 厶
slash + monument

he
亻 + 也
persona + also/scorpion

your persona: he is also covered with scorpions

she
女 + 也
woman + scorpion

woman covered in scorpions named She

men

[plural]
亻 + 门mén
persona + gate

your persona finds her doppelganger (a person's look-alike) at the gate

mama
女 + 马mǎ
woman + horse

Does your mama like horses?

papa
父 + 巴bā
father + boa

papa is a father protecting his children from a boa

HSK Writing-Low

Quiz

lóu

multistory building

gēn

heel [n./v.]

period of time

qián

in front, *butcher shop

jìn

advance [v.]

zǎo

early, *sunflower

jué or jiào

senses [n.]

穿

chuān

pass through

kāi

open [v.], *open hands

jiǎ or jià

fake or vacation

duì

that’s right

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