之际

之

zhi̅

际

際

jì

during / at the time of

Characters and words in 之际

之

zhi̅ = zh + Ø1

(possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的[de5]) / him / her / it

之 = 丶 + Z : Mnemonic symbol: Sooo sleepy... "zZz" (the character looks like a "Z"). James II of England (zh) fell asleep in front of the space station (Ø1). He sleeps on a big petal leaf (丶), making loud "zZz" (之) sounds.

际

際

jì = ji + Ø4

border / edge / boundary / interval / between / inter- / to meet / time / occasion / to meet with (circumstances)

际 = 示 + 阝 : Joan of Arc (ji) and the pope (阝) have an international (际) meeting in the space station's bathroom (Ø4). They decide on the border through the bathroom and mark their territories using standards (示).