岔

chà = ch + a4

fork in road / bifurcation / branch in road, river, mountain range etc / to branch off / to turn off / to diverge / to stray (from the path) / to change the subject / to interrupt / to stagger (times)

岔 = 分 + 山 : Charlie Chaplin (ch) is conducting a scientific investigation in the ashram's bathroom (a4) in which he sticks a fork (山) into a toilet at different positions and angles and measures with a stopwatch (分) how long it takes a bifurcation (岔) to appear once he flushes the toilet.

岔 character breakdown

岔
- 分
  - 八
    - 丿
    - ㇏
  - 刀
    - 丿
    - ㇆
      - 一
      - 亅
- 山
  - 丨
  - 凵

分

fe̅n = f + (e)n1

to divide; to separate / to distribute; to allocate / to distinguish (good and bad) / (bound form) branch of (an organization); sub- (as in 分局[fen1 ju2]) / fraction / one tenth (of certain units) / unit of length equivalent to 0.33 cm / minute (unit of time) / minute (angular measurement unit) / a point (in sports or games) / 0.01 yuan (unit of money)

分 = 八 + 刀 : Symbol for this character: A stopwatch (from the meaning "minute"). Frankenstein's monster participates in the annual championship of chopping eightballs in front of the encampment. Using a cleaver, he chops as many eightballs as he can in one minute.

分

fèn = f + (e)n4

part / share / ingredient / component

山

sha̅n = sh + an1

surname Shan

山

sha̅n = sh + an1

mountain / hill / anything that resembles a mountain / CL:座[zuo4] / bundled straw in which silkworms spin cocoons / gable

山 = 丨 + 凵 : Mnemonic symbol: 山 looks like the tip of a fork. Sherlock Holmes (sh) is climbing a mountain (山) in front of the anthill (an1). He uses a dinosaur bone (〡) as walking stick, and to have better grip he attached a fork (山) to its tip. Unfortunately he accidentally sticks the fork into a receptacle (凵) on the ground of the mountain and gets shocked.