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sòng
read aloud
讠 + 甬yǒng
microphone + hunter
Character Notes

You use a microphone to read aloud the story of Little Red Riding Hood's hunter.

Character Comparison
Series

féi
calf (of leg)
月 + 非fēi
body part + jail cell
Character Notes

Picture someone's calf getting stuck in the bars of their jail cell.

Character Comparison
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Matteo
王 + 马mǎ
jewel + horse
Character Notes

This character is used to transliterate foreign names into Chinese characters. The keyword "Matteo" refers to Matteo Ricci (1552-1610), a Jesuit missionary and translator in Ming China.

Picture Matteo Ricci riding a horse into the Forbidden City and being offered jewels from the emperor for his services.

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Series

殿

diàn
ceremonial hall
尸 + 共 + 殳
flag + together + boomerang
Character Notes

Picture a ceremonial hall where people are gathered together under a flag to participate in a boomerang ceremony.

Character Comparison
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fèn
dung
米 + 共
rice + together
Character Notes

Picture rice mashed together inside the animal into dung.

Character Comparison
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shǐ
excrement
尸shī + 米
corpse + rice
Character Notes

Rice coming out of a body is excrement.

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diān
weigh with the hand
扌 + 店diàn
hand + store
Character Notes

The store clerk uses her hand to weigh the fruit.

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kǎn
outspoken
亻 + 口 + 川
persona + mouth + stream
Character Notes

Picture your outspoken persona's mouth with a stream of words coming out of it.

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cuò
arrange
扌 + 昔
hand + times past
Character Notes

Alternatively: 扌+ 龷 + 日 hand + flower arrangement + sun; You use your hand to arrange the dried (in the sun) flowers.

Character Comparison
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zhǐ
blessedness
礻 + 止zhǐ
Eastern altar + stop/footprint
Character Notes

Dear Ancestors, I would like to stop right her in this state of blessedness and keep my feet here forever.

Character Comparison

miǎn
Myanmar
纟 + 面miàn
thread + face-to-face
Character Notes

There is a unique tradition of thread and fabric made from lotus fibers from Inle Lake in Myanmar. You have to see it face-to-face to appreciate the process.

Character Comparison
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magnetism
石 + 兹zī
stone + Siamese twins
Character Notes

Can you think of a legend about the origin of Siamese twins about a magnetized stone inside each?

Character Comparison
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jiàn
probe
D + 金jīn
bamboo sword + gold
Character Notes

Creative child's play: using a bamboo sword to probe for gold.

Character Comparison
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vivid
木 + 羽yǔ
tree + feathers
Character Notes

Picture a tree with colorful feathers instead of leaves--a vivid image.

Character Comparison
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depressed
̦有yǒu + 阝
possess + city walls
Character Notes

You possess personal city walls when you are depressed.

Character Comparison
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lěi
baseball base
3厶 + 土
3 monuments + soil
Character Notes

Imagine the Washington D.C. mall as a huge baseball field for giants with the Lincoln Memorial as home plate, Jefferson Memorial as first base, Washington Monument as second base and the White House as third base. There would be a lot of soil to cover as you ran the bases.

Character Comparison
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nài
can't help but
大 + 示
large dog + altar
Character Notes

Picture a situation where you or someone else can't help but put their large dog on the altar to sacrifice for a greater cause. (Maybe their child is allergic, and they have to give the dog away?)

Character Comparison
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small box
合hé + 皿
fit + dish
Character Notes

Picture a lid fitted on a dish, making it a small box.

Character Comparison
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qióng
poor
穴 + 力
hole + muscle
Character Notes

After a hole in his muscle prevented him from working, he soon became poor.

Character Comparison
Series
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