姑

gu̅ = gu + Ø1

paternal aunt / husband's sister / husband's mother (old) / nun / for the time being (literary)

姑 = 古 + 女 : Gitta Giraffe (gu) and Bessie Coleman (女) have both decided to become nuns (姑). In front of the space station (Ø1) they are about to enter a secluded cloister (古).

姑 character breakdown

姑
- 古
  - 十
    - 一
    - 丨
  - 口
- 女

古

gǔ = gu + Ø3

surname Gu

古

gǔ = gu + Ø3

ancient / old / paleo-

古 = 十 + 口 : Mnemonic symbol: at least on German maps, this character actually resembles a cloister.

Oh no! Gitta Giraffe (gu) found that the golden cross (十) broke off of the cloister (古) in the space station's living room (Ø3)! She skewers a mandarin (口) on top of the cloister so that she can skewer the broken off cross back on to fix it.

女

nǚ = nü + Ø3

female / woman / daughter

I'll represent 女 by Bessie Coleman, the first female pilot of African American descent.

女

rǔ = ru + Ø3

archaic variant of 汝[ru3]

Characters with 姑 as component

菇

gu̅ = gu + Ø1

mushroom

菇 = 艹 + 姑 : Gitta Giraffe (gu) has become a nun (姑). In front of the space station (Ø1), her new life includes sitting on mats made of artificial lawn (艹) and eating mushrooms (菇) all day.