Hey Everyone,

I haven't had much trouble so far though some characters and primitives have me going through an obstacle track in my imagination lol but I make through somehow. However, 'mending'.... I can't seem to figure out any images that will make it stick and allow me to recall how to write it or even what it looks like. What images do you guys use to remember and write this? Thanks

Hmm, we must have different edititions. I can't seem to find it on page 146 in my book, which starts with frame 327, "write".

Oh, hm. Mine is the Fifth edition, and it's the frame before 382 for 'determine'.

This is the description for 'mending' by Heisig: ' This primitive differs from the kanji for 'correct' only by the movement added to the last two strokes, the "-ing" of mending if you will. but take a more concrete sense, like mending holes in socks. [5]'

Maybe it can be found in the index at the back?

Miyumera Wrote:Oh, hm. Mine is the Fifth edition, and it's the frame before 382 for 'determine'.

Ah, that one, got it. Frame, uh, 381.5 (so to speak). Honestly, I don't have a good mnemonic for it, but I find myself remembering it as parts of other kanji such as 走 and 是 (mending the soil, mending all day). One of the nice things about Heisig's method is that subsequent kanji help continue to reinforce previously studied primitives.

Also, the writing motion of the kanji is very familiar, because Japanese use the similar character 正 when counting things (instead of drawing four vertical lines and crossing it with a fifth vertical one), so it's etched into muscle memory.

Also, I've always found 足 ("leg", frame 1279) to be one of the most visually memorable characters, because it looks like a stick figure running around going Wheee! (Although that's not its etymology.) So I guess ultimately I'm not remembering the radical because of Heisig, but because it's like an old friend. If someone does have a good legitimate mnemonic though, I'd like to learn it as well.

Yeah, the problem is that when I can't remember how to write the primitive i can't remember how to write subsequent characters that have it in it (even though I know that primitive goes in so and so spot in it).

I've been thinking about it today and sort of thought of a sock that doesn't look *correct* like a frown instead of a happy face and it needs to be mended with an upside down wishbone. lol. I'll have to test it to see if it stuck in a couple of days.

On another note for the sake of ranting, Heisig's 'keywords' drive me crazy sometimes because when i look them in a dictionary the translations are not the same... eg. Evening vs Eventide... they really mean the same darn thing in english. So I looked eventide up in the kanji dictionary and it means TIDE. Anyway...=) Thanks Mushi.

If anyone has any images or mnemonic. please share..

Hey M.
Reading your post made me realized I had no story, but I remembered it as a pictogram (sort of). You know, etymologically, mending is a variant of correct, so I guess I remember it by thinking "mending"="to make things correct", but maybe with more movement (it's a more dynamic kanji than "correct") -- like a teacher correcting sheets vs a construction worker mending things with a hammer.
I mean you could use a variant of your story for "correct". That's my tip.

Miyumera Wrote:If anyone has any images or mnemonic. please share..

Well, as for me, i just break down the primitives to their building elements....and make a story for that. I didn't check the site's stories, but I guess they didn't stick for me either, since I made up my own for this. Note that most people don't like this method, (or don't understand), given the stars I've gotten for my stories ..but here goes
This primitive if you take a closer look consits of the following elements (according to how the primitive is written, and in what order, this are the 2 MOST important factors, I don't give a damn about the printed form): elements: ceiling + magic wand + katakana "NO" + a long drop backwards.
Story: You just bought your first magic wand. It's a bit funny, the bar-code was torn up on it...but wait, the wand goes crazy, and it flies up to the ceiling! (by itself and beds itself in it) "NOoooo" "I've got myself a scam!" Then you drop backwards (It's a loong drop) because of the shock, to be scammed....That wand requires some mending. So did the bar-code on it....damn!
Another meaning for me: torn-up bar code. This worked for me.