can / may / able to / to approve / to permit / to suit / (particle used for emphasis) certainly / very
可
=
丁
+
口
:
Karl Marx (k) is challenging his abilities (可) in the elevator's living room (e3). He tries to force a nail (丁) into a mandarin (口), just by using his head. On top of that he tries to do so one thousand times, in order to create a bed of nails (mnemonic symbol for 可).
可
=
丁
+
口
:
Alternative mnemonic symbol: kebab, from the pronunciation "ke". Karl Marx (k) is preparing a kebab (mnemonic symbol for 可) in the elevator's living room (e3). He also skewers mandarins (口) on the long steel nails (丁) and will only allow (可) his guests to eat the rest of the kebab if they eat their mandarins first.
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.