工

work / worker / skill / profession / trade / craft / labor

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.

工 character breakdown

工
- 丨
- 二
  - 一

丨

gǔn = gu + (e)n3

radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 2)

Mnemonic symbol: a dinosaur bone. Gitta Giraffe (gu-) found a gorgeous dinosaur bone (丨) in the encampment's living room ((e)n3).

丨

shù = shu + Ø4

vertical stroke (in Chinese characters), referred to as 豎筆|竖笔[shu4 bi3]

Mnemonic symbol: a dinosaur bone. Sheldon Shrimp (shu) found a gorgeous dinosaur bone (丨) in the space station's bathroom (Ø4) and is cracking it open to eat its bone marrow.

二

èr = Ø + Ø4

two / 2 / (Beijing dialect) stupid

二 = 一 : Mnemonic symbol: a capacitor, because the two strokes remind me of the symbol in electrical drawings. Albert Einstein (Ø) is experimenting with a capacitor (二) in the space station's bathroom (Ø4). He finds that it's uncomfortable to discharge a capacitor using two flutes (一).

Characters with 工 as component

功

go̅ng = gu + (e)ng1

meritorious deed or service / achievement / result / service / accomplishment / work (physics)

功 = 力 + 工 : Gitta Giraffe practices her Kung Fu skills in front of the engine with a sparring robot made out of steel beams. The robot is programmed to fight Kung Fu, but Gitta Giraffe's Kung Fu is better: she hits the robots power button and turns it off.

卫

衛

wèi = w + ei4

surname Wei / vassal state during the Zhou Dynasty (1066-221 BC), located in present day Henan and Hebei Provinces

卫 = 工 + 亅 : A steel beam came loose in the Eiffel Tower's bathroom. Willy Walrus guards the scene with a crowbar against gazers until the construction team to repair it arrives.

卫

衛

wèi = w + ei4

to guard / to protect / to defend / abbr. for 衛生|卫生, hygiene / health / abbr. for 衛生間|卫生间, toilet

卫 = 工 + 亅 : A steel beam came loose in the Eiffel Tower's bathroom. Willy Walrus guards the scene with a crowbar against gazers until the construction team to repair it arrives.

丘

qiu̅ = qi + ou1

mound / hillock / grave / classifier for fields

丘 = 丿 + 丨 + 工 : In front of the outhouse, the Queen of Hearts set up a mound for her relatives. She also put a gate in front of it where the two pillars are a banana and a dinosaur bone respectively, and the horizontal beam is a steel beam.

丘

qiu̅ = qi + ou1

surname Qiu

丘

坵

qiu̅ = qi + ou1

variant of 丘[qiu1] / hillock

巫

wu̅ = w + Ø1

surname Wu / also pr. [Wu2]

巫

wu̅ = w + Ø1

witch / wizard / shaman / also pr. [wu2]

巫 = 从 + 工 : Willy Walrus (w) is fighting a wizard (巫) in front of the space station (Ø1). He is wielding a steel beam (工), while the wizard is casting rubber chicken (从).

杠

gàng = g + ang4

variant of 槓|杠[gang4]

杠 = 工 + 木 : In the anglepod's bathroom (ang4) Guy Fawkes (g) finds a steel beam (工) under the Christmas tree (木). He sharpens it like a knife (杠) to obtain a pole (杠) and starts practicing pole (杠) dancing.

杠

槓

gàng = g + ang4

coffin-bearing pole (old) / thick pole / bar / rod / thick line / to mark with a thick line / to sharpen (a knife, razor etc) / to get into a dispute with / standard / criterion

杠

ga̅ng = g + ang1

flagpole / footbridge

左

zuǒ = zu + o3

surname Zuo

左 = 𠂇 + 工 : Mnemonic symbol: a communist.

Zapatista Zebra (zu) and the communist (左) teamed up for once to sabotage capitalism. They start by trying to cut a steel beam (工) using scissors (𠂇) inside of the observatory (o3).

左

zuǒ = zu + o3

left / the Left (politics) / east / unorthodox / queer / wrong / differing / opposite / variant of 佐[zuo3]