Right now I am wondering what to use for 696  'or again' 又, i think some kind of superhero or supervillain

For "finger" stories, I threw in a lot of "severed fingers".  Same thing with "head".  I used 固 = medusa  because my "harden" story used a medusa.  Anytime "eye" appears horizontally, I made a cyclops story.

One random ass substitution I used was for the "going" primitive (at the left of 行、復、従, 御, etc).  I changed it to "going to fight the end boss in some RPG video game".  So all of those kanji stories are in 8- or 16-bit graphics in my head, which for some reason makes them some of my strongest.

My favorites:
for fingers: Colonel Sanders/KFC restaurant/KFC chicken. 
for taskmaster: hitler

Good ones but not favorites:
for person: Mr. T
for going: the superhero flash
I also use my favorite old school wrestler The Undertaker for 止.

My favorite primitive that isn`t a person is definitely the image of a large trojan horse for 馬

For state of mind, I use a "heart shaped locket". Now, later Heisig introduces Locket, so for that one I use "naganaka", a well-known Japanese weapon for those that play RPG's. I liked using Frodo for the "Rice Seedling" primitive.

Actually, I have lots of variants. It'd take time to think through them all.

I settled on Captain Hook from peter pan (his hook clashes with peter pans sword) for 又 and when it has wind above it, Captain Hook's Ship.

Like probably tons of other people on here - I've made many of my own primitives, and they definitely helped. I've also used multiple alternate for the same physical primitive (fingers = generally Fingers the Thief, every now and again Shrek, and two or three times Col. Sanders).

That said, though, I have to say that Fingers the Thief is quite possibly the most useful mnemonic I've ever used in my studies through the 2042. Whoever came up with that one, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

for what Heisig is calling butcher, I've been using Yakuza...  I hope this doesn't come back to bite me.

I used Sharpie for 言. So much easier.

Here's a few I've found useful...


Renamed:

言, say --> keitai (portable phone); it's pictographic, and you say things into a phone.
見, see --> telescope or magnifying glass; i.e. something that helps you see.
力, power --> Arnold Schwarzenegger ("Arnie" for short).
束, bundle --> Charlie Chaplin; because tramps carry a bundle.
糸, thread --> Spiderman; because spiders make threads.
艹, flower --> my local flower shop; because locations are versatile e.g. you can put anything in them.
木, tree --> my local woodyard; same reasoning as for flower.
王, king --> King Henry VIII.
氵, water (three drop version only) --> splashing water, or shooting with a water pistol.
忄, state of mind --> Sigmund Freud.
扌, fingers --> fingers the thief who specialises in nimble finger tasks like safecracking and pickpocketing.
罒, eye (horizontal version only) --> net; this is used in Japanese, and in RTK3. It's pictographic.
反, anti --> a demonstration march (they are anti-something).
彳, column --> Nelson's column in London.
禾, wheat --> a packet of Weetabix (a breakfast cereal popular in the UK).
文, plaid --> a kilt (made of plaid)


Some combinations:

葉蝶喋諜牒 generation + tree = Tarzan: because Tarzan lives with several generations of his family at the top of a tree.
通踊痛桶 chop-seal + utilize = pogo stick: because a chop-seal is long and thin with a rubbery bit at the end. If it were big enough you could utilize it as a pogo stick.
燥操繰藻 goods + tree = furniture: a common type of wooden goods.
曜濯躍擢燿耀 feathers + turkey = futon: a futon made from turkey feathers.
珍診疹謬 umbrella + shape = parasol: because a parasol is umbrella-shaped.

Last edited by Katsuo (2008 June 27, 1:10 am)

Katsuo wrote:

my local flower shop; because locations are versatile e.g. you can put anything in them

Wow, what a great idea Katsuo!

We talked a lot about using characters for primitives but we haven't really developed this idea of using locations.

I'm understanding your example as a setting for a story where the remaining primitives can be involved. This is different from using many well known monuments like Eifel Tower or the Big Ben as primitives, because these are often used the same way as objects or character primitives (though the line between object and location is often blurry...).

ファブリス wrote:

I'm understanding your example as a setting for a story where the remaining primitives can be involved.

Yes, that's it. The other primitives could be objects in the shop, or people such as customers, temporary employees, etc. Here's some examples:

228. leaf, 葉: You see Tarzan (= generation + tree -> see my post above) in the flower shop. He is trying on various leaves (which he wears to cover his private parts).
1216. turf, 芝: Zorro is working in the flower shop. His job is to slice up the turf for the customers. (You buy some from him.)
2369. buckwheat noodles, 蕎:  A buck-toothed angel is working in the flower shop. Her job is selling buckwheat noodles. (note: this flower shop can sell almost anything if it fits the kanji!)
2394. mushroom,茸:  You've been working in the flower shop for so long that mushrooms start growing out of your ears.
2957. bo tree,菩:  The flower shop have put a muzzle on Bo Derek and are selling her as a bo tree.

In Heisig alone there are over a hundred kanji with "flower" and even more with "tree", so this technique is useful as it expands the story-making possibilities.

cerulean wrote:

Does anyone have a simple yet interesting alternative to what Heisig calls 'Thanksgiving'?

I sort of dislike the thought of US farmland or colonial anything..   I always found this stuff so bland and boring..


EDIT:  This whole Lesson is rather uninteresting..  Parades..  March, Fiesta..  Thanksgiving..    Ugh..   I don't care for any of these. :p

I feel you. Parade: Godfather part 2 parade, Fiesta: Spear (This is amazing, it works really good. Spear + hand is a ton easier now), Thanksgiving: Indians eating corn on the cob!

Last edited by alyks (2008 June 27, 6:31 pm)