to not be; not / wrong; incorrect / non-; un-; in-; de- / to reproach; to blame / (coll.) to insist on; simply must
非
=
三
+
丿
+
丨
:
Mnemonic symbol: a negative film (photography)
非
=
三
+
丿
+
丨
:
Frankenstein's monster made an effort to photograph the Eiffel Tower, but now his negative is a big mess. In front of the tower her set up a camera on a Cartesian coordinate system as a tripod, and he attached a banana and a dinosaur bone to the camera so that he can finely tune the angles. All was for naught as he now holds the messed up negative in his hands.
straight / upright / proper / main / principal / to correct / to rectify / exactly / just (at that time) / right (in that place) / (math.) positive
正
=
一
+
止
:
Mnemonic symbol: a stick-figure with straight lines. James II of England (zh) really has to use the engine's bathroom ((e)ng4), but there's a stick-figure (正) blocking the stalls with a barrier (止). The stick-figure measures with a flute (一) whether James is tall enough to go. James stands very straight (正) to make himself as tall as possible.
always / ever / often / frequently / common / general / constant
常
=
小
+
冖
+
吊
:
Mnemonic symbol: the centennial light, a light bulb which will shine forever and ever.
常
=
小
+
冖
+
吊
:
Charlie Chaplin is fighting his way through anglepod's underbrush with a coat hanger. The anglepod has not been visited in a hundred years, and with his coat hanger, Charlie Chaplin has to cut down a lot of daisies. Finally he found what he was looking for: the centennial light, protected from the daisies and the rain by a cooking top.