广
=
亠
+
丿
:
The English Wiktionary lists "canopy" as a possible meaning, and an example for a canopy is the upper part of a parachute. That's what I'll use to represent this character in other characters. In the anglepod, Gitta Giraffe just invented the art of building a parachute out of berets and bananas, using the berets as canopy and banana peels as strings. Soon, this new sport spreads all over the world as the new thing to do.
广
=
亠
+
丿
:
The English Wiktionary lists "canopy" as a possible meaning, and an example for a canopy is the upper part of a parachute. That's what I'll use to represent this character in other characters. In the anglepod, Gitta Giraffe just invented the art of building a parachute out of berets and bananas, using the berets as canopy and banana peels as strings. Soon, this new sport spreads all over the world as the new thing to do.
prefecture / (old) province / (old) administrative division / state (e.g. of US) / oblast (Russia) / canton (Switzerland)
州
=
丶
+
丷
+
川
:
Mnemonic symbol: the red cotton tree, as it is the official flower of 广州 (Guangzhou). A new river (川) formed spontaneously in front of the outhouse (ou1), and James II of England (zh) was barely able to climb on a red cotton tree (州). Other animals are happy about this development: a mean crocodile (丷) is floating on a petal leaf (丶) towards the red cotton tree.