采

cǎi = c + ai3

to pick / to pluck / to collect / to select / to choose / to gather

采 = 木 + 爫 : Mnemonic symbol: a plectrum.

采 = 木 + 爫 : The King of Chu (c) decorated the airplane's (ai3) Christmas trees (木) with plectrums (采), now it's time to decorate himself. He selects parts of his beard to shave with an electric razor (爫), then goes on to select some of the leaves to pluck them out and put them in his partly shaved face.

采

cǎi = c + ai3

color / complexion / looks / variant of 彩[cai3] / variant of 採|采[cai3]

采

cài = c + ai4

allotment to a feudal noble

采 character breakdown

采
- 木
  - 八
    - 丿
    - ㇏
  - 十
    - 一
    - 丨
- 爫
  - 丿
  - ⺍
    - 小
      - 亅
      - 八
        
        丿
        
        ㇏

木

mù = mu + Ø4

surname Mu

木

mù = mu + Ø4

tree / wood / coffin / wooden / simple / numb / one of the eight categories of ancient musical instruments 八音[ba1 yin1]

木 = 八 + 十 : Mnemonic symbol: a Christmas tree. Malte Monkey is putting up a Christmas tree (木) in the bathroom of the space station (Ø4). He's using a cross (十) as a base to put the tree on, and decorates the tree with eight-balls (八).

爫

zhǎo = zh + ao3

"claw" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 87)

Mnemonic symbol: the strokes of this character remind me of a smiling mouth over a beard; thus, I'll represent it by an electric razor. James II of England (zh) uses his electric razor (爫) to shave his beard in the aorta's living room (ao3).

木

mù = mu + Ø4

(bound form) tree / (bound form) wood / unresponsive; numb; wooden

Characters with 采 as component

采

採

cǎi = c + ai3

to pick / to pluck / to collect / to select / to choose / to gather

采 = 木 + 爫 : Mnemonic symbol: a plectrum.

菜

cài = c + ai4

dish (type of food) / vegetable / cuisine / CL:盤|盘[pan2],道[dao4] / (coll.) (one's) type / (of one's skills etc) weak / poor

菜 = 艹 + 采 : The King oh Chu (c) is busy preparing a dish (菜) in the airplane's bathroom (ai4). He is using two plectrums (采) to pluck out parts of a mat of artificial lawn (艹).

彩

cǎi = c + ai3

(bright) color / variety / applause / applaud / lottery prize

彩 = 彡 + 采 : The King of Chu (c) is playing his fake Santa Clause beard (彡) by pulling the beard with one hand and plucking (采) the hairs using a plectrum (采) in the airplane (ai3). He is playing a variety (彩) of songs and the audience is applauding (彩) frantically.

踩

cǎi = c + ai3

to step on / to tread / to stamp / to press a pedal / to pedal (a bike) / (online) to downvote

踩 = ⻊ + 采 : The King of Chu (c) is playing his guitar in the airplane (ai3). Every time he looses his plectrum (采) he quickly steps (踩) on it with his left cowboy boot (⻊) to prevent it from rolling away.

踩

跴

cǎi = c + ai3

variant of 踩[cai3]

睬

cǎi = c + ai3

to pay attention / to take notice of / to care for

睬 = 目 + 采 : The King of Chu (c) is playing a song for the sun (目) in the airplane (ai3), but the sun is not paying attention to the song at all. It only pays attention (睬) to the King of Chu's beautiful golden plectrum (采).

睬

倸

cǎi = c + ai3

variant of 睬[cai3]