Pinyin initial: "y"

The Pinyin initial "y" is used in the first half of Pinyin syllables. In MandarinBanana's mnemonic system, "y" belongs to the group of Pinyin initials which are represented in mnemonics by women. You can visit the Pinyin index to see all Pinyin syllables from this mnemonic group, or to see all Pinyin syllables "y" can appear in.

Mnemonics for y

Y is for Maud Younger.

Characters with y

non-Han people, esp. to the East of China / barbarians / to wipe out / to exterminate / to tear down / to raze

= + : The barbarians (夷) are about to hijack the space station! Just inside the entrance Maud Younger (y) and the robot (大) will fight until their death to defend the space station. The robot even has a small composite bow (弓) in his robot hands.
surname Yi

= + : Maud Younger (y) received a package just inside the space station's entrance (Ø2). It is a shelf (且) from IKEA (宜家). To get ready to set up the self appropriately (宜), Maud puts on her graduation cap (宀), grabs a drink and starts studying the manual.
proper / should / suitable / appropriate

= + : Maud Younger (y) received a package just inside the space station's entrance (Ø2). It is a shelf (且) from IKEA (宜家). To get ready to set up the self appropriately (宜), Maud puts on her graduation cap (宀), grabs a drink and starts studying the manual.
variant of 岩[yan2]

= + : Maud Younger finds the anthill's kitchen blocked by a cliff. With a fork, she forks up the cliff rock by rock and frees the entrance.
variant of 巖|岩[yan2]

= + : Maud Younger finds the anthill's kitchen blocked by a cliff. With a fork, she forks up the cliff rock by rock and frees the entrance.
cliff / rock

= + : Maud Younger finds the anthill's kitchen blocked by a cliff. With a fork, she forks up the cliff rock by rock and frees the entrance.
variant of 巖|岩[yan2]

= + : Maud Younger finds the anthill's kitchen blocked by a cliff. With a fork, she forks up the cliff rock by rock and frees the entrance.
sound / noise / note (of musical scale) / tone / news / syllable / reading (phonetic value of a character)

= + : Maud Younger and the Sun opened a pop-up store in front of the encampment. They sell vases and advertise them using loudspeakers, playing loud music and dancing to it.

= + : Mnemonic symbol: a loudspeaker.
Italy; Italian (abbr. for 意大利[Yi4 da4 li4])
Italy / Italian / abbr. for 意大利[Yi4 da4 li4]

= + : Maud Younger had a desire for new loudspeakers ever since she boarded the space station. Today she wants to anticipate what will be in the next supply shipment, so in the bathroom she stares into her crystal ball, and indeed sees the desired loudspeakers. She falls in love instantly, feeling her heart pounding heavily.
idea / meaning / thought / to think / wish / desire / intention / to expect / to anticipate

= + : Maud Younger had a desire for new loudspeakers ever since she boarded the space station. Today she wants to anticipate what will be in the next supply shipment, so in the bathroom she stares into her crystal ball, and indeed sees the desired loudspeakers. She falls in love instantly, feeling her heart pounding heavily.
smile (archaic)
youngest / most junior / tiny / one (unambiguous spoken form when spelling out numbers, esp. on telephone or in military) / one or ace on dice or dominoes / variant of 吆[yao1], to shout

= : Mnemonic symbol from 幺点, ace: an ace card.

= : Maud Younger is going to a poker tournament in the aorta. Before she enters, she hides an ace in her fake nose in front of the aorta.
surname Yao
to use / by means of / according to / in order to / because of / at (a certain date or place)

= + : Maud Younger and Neanderthal Man prepared some costumes for Halloween in the space station. Neanderthal Man created a big fake nose, while Maud Younger made a pair of Groucho glasses.

= + : So this is Neanderthal Man with a fake nose. He has bushy eyebrows, so my symbol for 以 is going to be one of these fake noses that come with additional glasses, eyebrows, and a moustache: Groucho glasses.
abbr. for Israel 以色列[Yi3 se4 lie4]
old variant of 以[yi3]
old variant of 以[yi3]

= + : Mnemonic symbol: 㠯 looks like a cool pair of safety goggles.

A ghost (尸) has been hiding from Maud Younger (Ø3) in a mandarin (口). Maud finds the mandarin in the space station's living room (Ø3) and squeezes the ghost out, and in order to (㠯) be protected from the mandarin juice flying all around in zero gravity she is wearing safety goggles (㠯).
classical final particle, similar to modern 了[le5]

= + : Mnemonic symbol: the finals of a TV show.

Maud Younger (y) made it to the finals of a TV show (矣) and is facing her last challenge in the space station (Ø3). With a fake nose (厶) covering her face she'll have to smell different darts (矢) and guess which dart player had it in his or her hands last.
page / leaf

= + : mnemonic symbol: a sheet of paper.

= + : It's just too hot in Greece for the crab, so it wants to return to the ocean. Inside of the elevator's bathroom, Maud Younger helps it to do so. The plan is to just flush it down the toilet. The toilet is operated with the help of wind power, but there's no wind today. Maud Younger makes short work, grabs to sheets of paper and waves them towards the wind wheel until it turns really quickly. Finally the crab can return home.