Mnemonic comic for 小

Translation

xiǎo = xi + ao3: small / tiny / few / young

Mnemonic

A mnemonic is a short, deliberately ridiculous scene, built to be hard to forget. Who appears in it and where it takes place are how the pronunciation is stored; the objects in it stand for the parts the character is written with. That is the Marilyn Method, and the comic below is the same scene, drawn.

Mnemonic symbol: a small daisy (小).

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How to pronounce 小

MandarinBanana teaches pronunciation with the Marilyn Method: every Pinyin syllable is one initial plus one final, the initial becomes a person, an animal or a deity, and the final becomes a place in your memory palace — with the tone deciding which part of that place the scene happens in. Remember the little story below for each half and the whole syllable comes back with them.

= xi initial

Xi is for Xi Shi (西施), one of the renowned Four Beauties of ancient China.

By Matthias • updated 11 days ago
+ ao3 final

In the aorta’s living room.

By Matthias • updated 11 days ago

小 character breakdown

Chinese characters are built out of smaller characters. Each component carries a mnemonic symbol - one concrete object that stands in for it - and a mnemonic story hands those objects to the person and the place that stand for the pronunciation. Learn a component once and every character that reuses it gets easier.

Component Translations
八
bā = b + a1
eight; 8
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亅
jué = ju + e2
"vertical stroke with hook" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 6) / see also 豎鉤|竖钩[shu4 gou1]
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Characters with 小 as component

one of the characters used in kwukyel (phonetic "pin"), an ancient Korean writing system
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⺍
Character component without intrinsic meaning
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糸
mì = mi + Ø4
fine silk / Kangxi radical 120
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Words with 小

show 1024 more
hour / CL:個|个[ge4]
young lady / miss / (slang) prostitute / CL:個|个[ge4],位[wei4]
to be careful / to take care
Sentences with 小
小
xiǎo
 
 
小
xiǎo
 
 
小
xiǎo

Want to remember 小 for good?

Make it your learning target and MandarinBanana works out the shortest route to it: the two sounds its syllable is built from, then the components of the character itself, one short step at a time. No account needed to start.

小
xiǎo

small / tiny / few / young

Prompt snippets

A daisy is a simple, cheerful flower with bright white petals radiating around a golden-yellow center. Its round, symmetrical shape and fresh green stem give it a clean, natural charm.

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