Wizard wrote:

I wish I had known earlier, all the basic primitives I learned before finding this site, so stuff like flower is pretty stuck in my head as flower ;/

I don't see the problem.  I thought the entire point of alternative primitives was to help make abstract primitives more concrete, so that they'd stick in your head better and be easier to use in stories.  If a primitive is already stuck in your head that means that it's working.  No need to reinvent the wheel...

Wizard wrote:

I wish I had known earlier, all the basic primitives I learned before finding this site, so stuff like flower is pretty stuck in my head as flower ;/

You don't need to drop the original primitive names. The new names just give you an alternative choice which will work better for some new kanji. I.e. When learning a new kanji,  choose the version of the primitive name that works best in that particular story.

As for old stories, if you have no problem with a particular kanji that uses an original primitive name, then keep it as it is. On the other hand, if there's a kanji you keep forgetting, consider rewriting the story with the new primitive name.

Some more...


Claw > Kitten

Claw + Child > Just that second born kitten. (not as confusing as it sounds)

Elbow > Pickaxe

Pedestal > AxeDrinker BeerHeart (A fictional dwarf king I made up with unquenchable thirst for ale)

Wall > Dwarven Throne Room

.. unshared at the moment, I am worried if my stories of dwarf escapades might annoy people?

兄 = Edward Elric from Fullmetal Alchemist. Dunno, it was the first thing that popped into my head after hearing Al call him "兄さん" about three hundred times.

I use the right side of 朽 for pitfall. But I think mouth 口 is so awesome, because it can be "eating" also. 舎 = "Eating a dirty umbrella".

Samsara is a very cheery person XD

i found fiesta and all that crap wayyyy too abstract
so i kept adding little modifiers to arrow
arrow = arrow
spear = arrow with extra length added
scythe = spear with the first stroke hook
death scythe (only appears one) is the scythe with the initial little hook (used in surpass)
trident/very long spear is just a spear with 3 points.
industrial shovel is a spear blunted off 10 times

the ONLY primitve i use of heisigs is 'march' cause that worked very well with the kanji, apart from that i completely made those kanji up myself lol

I'm finding that a lot of the "object" based primitives aren't sticking with me. Utensils, types of food, and the like I keep on forgetting and forgetting. Because of this, I decided to change some of the variables to things more concrete for me - politicians, fictional characters, friends, et cetera.

Horror Villains work great for me, because they have such striking visuals.

斤　"Ax"　 - I use Jason from the horror movie of the same name. I have a clear image of him using an axe.
乍　"Saw" - I use the Jigsaw Killer from the "Saw" series, with a saw in hand of course.
争"Rake" - Freddy Kreuger. He has claws like a rake.

From comedies:
ヨ　"Broom" - I use Marge Simpson. She cleans a lot, so it stuck.
者　"Puppet"　 - Anything from Team America.

Last edited by Evangelo (2008 August 05, 11:59 pm)

okay I'm kind of getting sick of Heisig's use of foreign or uncommon words for primitives and kanji.



'Siesta'? Could you stop using the spanish language please?


I'm definitely going to have to get a new primitive for this one >.<

Really?   Anyway, while assigning my stories I found someone using Cheech taking a nap.. I think it might do it for me.

I really didn't know the meaning for siesta in the first place.  Why didn't Heisig just use the word nap?  More imagery potential in the word siesta?   .. Probably why he used Fiesta instead of party.


But thanks for educating me, pm215.  ^-^

pm215 wrote:

cerulean wrote:

'Siesta'? Could you stop using the spanish language please?

The OED has cites for 'siesta' in English dating back to the mid-17th century :-)

Yeah I know what a siesta is since I'm from a Greek background. But for me like I've said before other primitives like "turkey" mean nothing. Living in Australia, turkey isn't that popular. I've never seen a live one, and I don't even like the taste. Other uncommon words like "hawser" or "mandala" don't do much for me either.

So, yeah, like I said before, your primary goal is to remember the kanji, so use whatever primitives work for you. Substitute things that are familiar to you and prefer the concrete to the abstract.

The only point I'd add is that if you change a primitive, then it's a good idea to explain explain it so that other people can understand the reason behind your stories, and to benefit from your innovation as well. After all, if you have trouble with "mandala", then someone else is likely to.

I call the right side of 侯 a keyblade (from Kingdom Hearts). Another option I just thought up would be the directional keys on a keyboard.

The "sun + woman" part of 宴 = raisins (Sun-Maid)

享 = 高子（たかこ） from the anime おとめはぼくにこいしてる. I'm sure you can see why this makes sense, even if you're unfamiliar with the show.

The right part of 偶 is an "anthead". This one refers to Philip K. Dick's "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?".

糸 is なお from the anime 舞HiME (yes, I have a lot of anime primitives). Anyone familiar with the series will understand. This one hasn't worked quite as well as I had hoped, but I do recommend assigning a person (or a location) to this primitive, since it appears so often.

尤 is a werewolf. (A dog on human legs)

The left part of 乳 is a rubber duck.

The right part of 派 (everything except the water) is a zombie.

The horizontal 目 (in such kanji as 寧) is "both eyes", while the vertical one is just one eye.

足 is a pirate. (By way of a wooden leg)

For 又, I use something related to Heisig's primitive meaning, but a bit more graphic. I won't go into the specifics here, though. Suffice to say, my 取 story is rather disturbing.

扌 is David Firth's "Salad Fingers" character. I have, however, borrowed (stolen) some ideas from the "Fingers the Thief" meaning, so the Salad Fingers in my stories has certain cleptomaniac tendencies.

The part to the right of Salad Fingers in 抑 is a wheelchair, by way of cerebral palsy (the abbreviation of which, "CP", kind of looks like the strokes used for this compound). Not that politically correct, I suppose, but effective.

卯 is "easter eggs". In 卵, the paint has been washed off by drops of water, making them regular eggs. I also consider the upper part of 留 the same primitive, which may be incorrect, but has worked for me so far.

The compound primitive consisting of two 夫 is a homosexual couple (two husbands).

斤 is レナ from ひぐらしのなく頃に. This should also be obvious for anyone familiar with the franchise.

卆 is simply the number 90. (九十. See?)

The upper half of 監 is a "lazy slave".

The right half of 繰 (goods + tree) is paper.

I'm thinking of assigning a new meaning to the イ with an extra, vertical stroke to the right (候), since that's one of the primitives I tend to forget after a month or so.

Last edited by hknamida (2008 August 21, 8:16 am)