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.
工
=
二
+
丨
:
Mnemonic symbol: a steel beam, since 工 looks like the cross section of a steel beam. In front of the engine ((e)ng1), Gitta Giraffe (gu) is doing some hard work: She's stacking a capacitor (二) on a dinosaur bone (丨) on a capacitor (二). She's not very successful, but then she gets the idea to use steel beams (工) as support.
to do; to engage in / to write; to compose / to pretend; to feign / to regard as; to consider to be / to be; to act the part of / to feel (itchy, nauseous etc) / writings; works