If you work at it hard enough, you can grind an iron bar into a needle. / cf idiom 磨杵成針|磨杵成针, to grind an iron bar down to a fine needle (idiom); fig. to persevere in a difficult task / to study diligently
只
=
八
+
口
:
Mnemonic symbol: this character looks like something (a head?) on two legs. I'll just represent it by a cuttlefish (只). James II of England (zh) has been in the space station (Ø3) as the only (只) one for too long and went mad. He thinks he's holding a mandarin (口), but he's just about to bite into merely (只) an eight ball (八). On the top of his head is a cuttlefish (只) he mistook for a hat.
important / vital / to want / to ask for / will / going to (as future auxiliary) / may / must / (used in a comparison) must be / probably / if
要
=
女
+
覀
:
Bessie Coleman shows Maud Younger how to use a knuckle duster in the aorta's bathroom. She says it's very important and that Maud will have to get one herself.
meritorious deed or service / achievement / result / service / accomplishment / work (physics)
功
=
力
+
工
:
Gitta Giraffe practices her Kung Fu skills in front of the engine with a sparring robot made out of steel beams. The robot is programmed to fight Kung Fu, but Gitta Giraffe's Kung Fu is better: she hits the robots power button and turns it off.
husband / man / manual worker / conscripted laborer (old)
夫
=
二
+
人
:
Mnemonic symbol: a construction worker
夫
=
二
+
人
:
In front of the space station, Neanderthal Man and a construction worker are busy exchanging a broken capacitor. When Frieda Fox floats by they whistle at her because they think she's hot, but Frieda is just annoyed.
deep / depth / deeply / (of a color) dark / deep / rich
深
=
氵
+
冖
+
八
+
木
:
In front of the encampment ((e)n1) an eight ball (八) has been fixed to the top of a Christmas tree (木), and on top of the eight ball a cooking top is balanced carefully so that it doesn't topple over. On the cooking top a lot of water bottles (氵) are standing so that everything is perfectly balanced. As Sherlock Holmes (sh) comes along he finds that this construction is very interesting, and he makes a profound (深) mistake with a deep (深) impact: as he takes down only one of the bottles the whole thing collapses and all the other bottles break as they fall on the ground. Soon, Sherlock Holmes is in deep (深) trouble as the water from the water bottles gets deeper and deeper (深).
深
=
氵
+
罙
:
Sherlock Holmes (sh) finds a grease fire in front of the encampment ((e)n1). He wants to put it out, but he knows that you shouldn't directly pour water in a grease fire. Instead, to keep a distance from the fire, he pours bottled water (氵) through the top of the chimney above the kitchen range (罙). Soon, the kitchen range is submerged in deep (深) water.
铁
=
失
+
钅
:
Mother Teresa (ti) is looking for a new iron weapon (铁) to defend herself. So far she was using a golden harpoon (钅), but the gold is just too soft. Inside of the elevator (e3) she is searching a lost+found box with her golden harpoon for an iron weapon (铁).
iron (metal) / arms / weapons / hard / strong / violent / unshakeable / determined / close / tight (slang)
铁
=
失
+
钅
:
Mother Teresa (ti) is looking for a new iron weapon (铁) to defend herself. So far she was using a golden harpoon (钅), but the gold is just too soft. Inside of the elevator (e3) she is searching a lost+found box with her golden harpoon for an iron weapon (铁).
to rub / to grind / to polish / to sharpen / to wear down / to die out / to waste time / to pester / to insist
磨
=
石
+
麻
:
Mahatma Gandhi (m) has been tied down in the observatory's kitchen (o2) with ropes made of hemp (麻). He uses a stone (石) to patiently rub (磨) through the ropes.
成
=
万
+
戈
:
Mnemonic symbol: a progress bar stuck at 99%.
成
=
万
+
戈
:
Charlie Chaplin is queuing at the engine's kitchen, which is blocked by a neuron until the progress bar above shows 100%. Unfortunately it has been stuck at 99% for two hours now. If it doesn't finish soon, Charlie will get completely mad and destroy the neuron himself with his spear.
to succeed / to finish / to complete / to accomplish / to become / to turn into / to be all right / OK! / one tenth
成
=
万
+
戈
:
Mnemonic symbol: a progress bar stuck at 99%.
成
=
万
+
戈
:
Charlie Chaplin is queuing at the engine's kitchen, which is blocked by a neuron until the progress bar above shows 100%. Unfortunately it has been stuck at 99% for two hours now. If it doesn't finish soon, Charlie will get completely mad and destroy the neuron himself with his spear.
针
=
十
+
钅
:
James II of England (zh) found a huge cross made from a bone and a flute (十) with a golden harpoon (钅) sticking in the bone in front of the encampment ((e)n1). He wants to find out where it came from, so he uses a needle (针) to draw bone marrow from the bone to analyze its DNA, and it turns out that it once belonged to a white whale.