Lesson 8

Question 1

stream

(N.)

Answer 1

川

Question 2

state

(N.)

Answer 2

州

Question 3

obey

Answer 3

顺

One has to decide who to obey; to follow the stream (public, go with the flow) or follow the head (leader).

Question 4

water

(N.)

Answer 4

水

Question 5

eternity

Answer 5

永

Question 6

blood vessels

Answer 6

脉

Blood vessels so long they can stretch on for eternity, all the way to the moon.

Question 7

request

(V.)

Answer 7

求

We request your presence at the wedding of Snowflake to DripDrop. They will soon be one (the character 1 is near the top, separating drop and snowflake).

Question 8

spring

(N.)

Answer 8

泉

When a spring bubbles up, the water is frothy and white at the top.

Question 9

flatlands

Answer 9

原

cliff (factory)+spring (water simplified to 3 drops/character for small)

“The flatlands are alive, with the sound of muuusic…” Maria skips along merrily, dodging in and out of springs that pop up like landmines until she comes the the edge of cliff and loses her balance. Listen to her words echoing as she falls.

Question 10

swim

Answer 10

泳

Spending an eternity in the water, swimming.

Question 11

continent

Answer 11

洲

stream -> state -> continent

State lines are often separated by a river. Continents are separated by even more water, an entire ocean.

Question 12

marsh

Answer 12

沼

A marsh is soggy. It tries to summon water over to its side.

Question 13

sand

(N.)

Answer 13

沙

water+few
Gravel is stone+few: the water has ground away at the stone leaving sand. Also when I walk on the beach the sand has a little (few) water mixed in, making it damp.

Question 14

Yangtze

Answer 14

江

water+ I-beam (work)
A heavy metal I-beam is being launched like a raft by a mentally challenged Huck Finn to sail on the Yangtze…

(or a generic river)

Question 15

juice

(N.)

Answer 15

汁

water+needle (ten)
The juice for robots has water and needles. (Like liter that we looked at earlier that has a thousand needles as a robot’s sports drink)

Question 16

tide

Answer 16

潮

water+dynasty

The ebb and flow of a dynasty’s fortunes-literally. All the wealth of the empire flows into the emperor’s court at high tide; and everything there empties back into the populace when it is at low tide.

Question 17

source

Answer 17

源

water+flatlands
The place where the water comes from, under the flatlands, is the water source.

Question 18

lively

Answer 18

活

water+tongue

A lively personality or a lively party means a lot of chatter. Tongues babble and splash around like flowing water.

Question 19

extinguish

Answer 19

消

Water will extinguish the spark.

Question 20

river

Answer 20

河

river+can
The little engine that could has now turned into a river boat, chugging down the Yellow River. “I think I can!”

Question 21

fish

(N.)

Answer 21

鱼

bound up+rice field+floor

It looks like a fish with scales and a top fin.

A story: The fish is bound up in the net when caught. When it’s filleted, the inedible parts are thrown into the rice field as a fertilizer. Then the rest is set on the floor to feed the cat.

Question 22

fishing

(N.)

Answer 22

渔

Question 23

lake

Answer 23

湖

water+ancient+flesh (recklessly)
The eskimo tradition of sending an old person out on the lake in a raft to die.

Question 24

fathom

(V.)

Answer 24

测

water+rule
Use the ruler to measure how deep the water is; literally fathom it!

Question 25

soil

(N.)

Answer 25

土

Question 26

equal

Answer 26

均

soil+uniform
Uniform plots of land mean an equal share for everyone.

Question 27

belly

Answer 27

肚

flesh+soil

When you eat, your belly can become a mound, like a mound of soil.

Question 28

dust

Answer 28

尘

small+soil

Question 29

fill in

Answer 29

填

soil+true
They want you to fill out a form with full and true disclosure in order to get the dirt on you. Literally fill in the blanks with shovels of dirt.

Question 30

spit

(V.)

Answer 30

吐

Question 31

pressure

(N.)

Answer 31

压

There’s a lot of pressure in a sterile factory for there not to be even a drop of soil. Or there can be a landslide on a cliff from a drop of soil having too much pressure on it.

Question 32

waaah!

Answer 32

哇

mouth+bricks
An infants cry, waaah! is like a mouth spitting out bricks to shatter the silence of our sleep.

Question 33

Chinese inch

Answer 33

寸

Question 34

seal

(V.)

Answer 34

封

Instead of hot wax, you seal the letter by gluing a brick on the outside. Not SWAK but Sealed With A Brick.

Question 35

time

(N.)

Answer 35

时

Time is glued to the sun (sun dials, solar calendar). Imagine a clock face actually glued to the face of the sun.

Question 36

Buddhist temple

Answer 36

寺

Attaching yourself to a particular sect. Literally putting glue to the bottom of your feet, to attach yourself to the soil/land around the Buddhist temple.

Question 37

fire

(N.)

Answer 37

火

Question 38

destroy

Answer 38

灭

A fire with a menacing, wicked grin raising its eyes to the ceiling with intent to destroy the room.

Question 39

ashes

Answer 39

灰

by one’s side+fire
Ashes are beside the fire. This character looks like a fireplace that would be full of ashes.

Question 40

vexed

(ADJ.)

Answer 40

烦

fire+head
Someone is getting worked up about something-they’re vexed. They’re really burned about it, or may act hot-headed.

Question 41

inflammation

Answer 41

炎

Question 42

thin

(ADJ.)

Answer 42

淡

When you mix fire and water, one makes the other thin (Not slender; but pale, diluted, or weak. Like a paint thinner.)

Question 43

lamp

Answer 43

灯

Nail down a bit of fire, just enough to read by. A lamp!

Question 44

spot

(N.)

Answer 44

点

Tell fortunes by staring at the cauldron and into the cooking fire until you see spots. Use the spots to tell fortunes.

Question 45

illuminate

Answer 45

照

evident+cooking fire
The ring is illuminated! In Lord of the Rings, Gandolf makes the writing on the ring evident by sticking it into the cooking fire to illuminate it.