to exist; to be alive / (of sb or sth) to be (located) at / (used before a verb to indicate an action in progress)
在
=
一
+
亻
+
土
:
Zorro (z) and Rosa Luxemburg (亻) exist (在) in the airplane's bathroom (ai4). Rosa is in the middle of balancing a flute (一) on her head and on a pile of clay (土). Zorro uses his rapier to inscribe "Z" into the flute, so as to mark that the pronunciation of "在" begins with "z".
that / those / then (in that case) / commonly pr. [nei4] before a classifier, esp. in Beijing
那
=
二
+
刀
+
阝
:
The emperor is wielding a sword with a capacitance, because it's electrical. So in other characters this will be a laser sword.
那
=
二
+
刀
+
阝
:
Napoleon is practising with his laser sword in the ashram's bathroom, in the case that he will be released from this prison. Then he'll be ready to take on the world.
lining / interior / inside / internal / also written 裏|里[li3]
里
=
土
+
田
:
Mnemonic symbol: a sunflower. The 田 part looks like the blossom and 土 looks like the stem and leaves. Li Qingzhao (li) wants to put up a field (田) inside (里) the space station's living room (Ø3). First she puts some earth (土) here and there, and then she plants lots of sunflowers (里).
li, ancient measure of length, approx. 500 m / neighborhood / ancient administrative unit of 25 families / (Tw) borough, administrative unit between the township 鎮|镇[zhen4] and neighborhood 鄰|邻[lin2] levels
to be (followed by substantives only) / correct; right; true / (respectful acknowledgement of a command) very well / (adverb for emphatic assertion)
是
=
旦
+
龰
:
Mnemonic symbol: a skull, from "to be or not to be".
Sherlock Holmes (sh) starts his day in the space station's bathroom (Ø4) with a mug of coffee (旦). Holding a skull (mnemonic symbol for 是) in his hands, he asks himself "to be, or not to be" (是). He wonders if he can make the skull come back to life using lots of coffee, and injects coffee from his mug into the skull using a syringe (龰).
是
=
日
+
下
+
人
:
Mnemonic symbol: a skull, from "to be or not to be".
Sherlock Holmes (sh) watches the Neanderthal Man (人) trying to climb to the sun (日) on a ladder (下) in the space station's bathroom (Ø4). Sherlock is afraid that he'll open the window, so he puts on a big skull (是) and scares him off.
最
=
取
+
日
:
Zapatista Zebra finds a bloody ear in the Eiffel Tower's bathroom. The sun has been shining on it, and Zapatista Zebra thinks it's the most disgusting smell ever.
big; large; great / older (than another person) / eldest (as in 大姐[da4 jie3]) / greatly; freely; fully / (dialect) father / (dialect) uncle (father's brother)
大
=
一
+
人
:
The big (大), huge (大) robot (mnemonic symbol for 大) is working out in the ashram's bathroom (a4). He's lifting a flute (一) to which Don Quixote (d) and Neanderthal man (人) are clinging.
of; ~'s (possessive particle) / (used after an attribute) / (used to form a nominal expression) / (used at the end of a declarative sentence for emphasis) / also pr. [di4] or [di5] in poetry and songs
的
=
勺
+
白
:
Don Quixote (d) ends up on the elevator's roof (e5) after a standoff. His only weapon left is a silver spoon (勺), so he can only wave with a white flag (白).
(onom.) sound of singing, cheering etc / (phonetic) / (dialect) to chat
啦
=
口
+
拉
:
Sir Lancelot (l) built a fiddle out of a hollow mandarin (口) and strokes it using a fiddlestick (拉). He is busking in front of the ashram (a1) playing his fiddle and chanting (啦) loudly, hoping to make some money.
to overtake / to catch up with / to hurry / to rush / to try to catch (the bus etc) / to drive (cattle etc) forward / to drive (sb) away / to avail oneself of (an opportunity) / until
赶
=
干
+
走
:
Guy Fawkes (g) is taking part in a nordic walking (走) marathon. The route leads through the anthill (an3) and inside there are lots of dried fruits (干) in the bar for the walkers. As Guy Fawkes passes through, he hurriedly (赶) prongs a lot of dried fruit onto his nordic walking poles (走) before the bar owner rushes (赶) him out.
to overtake; to catch up with / to hurry; to rush / to try to catch (the bus etc) / to drive (cattle etc) forward; to drive (sb) away / to avail oneself of (an opportunity) / until; by (a certain time)
rapid / quick / speed / rate / soon / almost / to make haste / clever / sharp (of knives or wits) / forthright / plainspoken / gratified / pleased / pleasant
快
=
夬
+
忄
:
Karl Koala made the mistake to have asked the crystal ball in the airplane's bathroom about his future. After he has seen his fate he quickly and angrily destroys the crystal ball with a flail.
to thank / to apologize / (of flowers, leaves etc) to wither / to decline
谢
=
射
+
讠
:
Marie Curie (xi) just came back from her trip to outer space and is standing in front of the launch pad (射) in the elevator's bathroom (e4). She thanks (谢) her sponsors and points towards the sponsors' advertising column (讠), saying that it would have been impossible to go to outer space without their funding.
恩
=
因
+
心
:
René Descartes (因) and Albert Einstein (Ø) are celebrating Thanksgiving day (感恩节) in front of the encampment ((e)n1). Albert Einstein bought a turkey but feels sorry for him. He gives charity to the turkey out of pity (恩赐). The turkey feels very grateful and thanks Albert Einstein (谢恩). René Descartes is so touched by Albert's great deed that René gives him his heart (心).
恩
=
因
+
心
:
René Descartes (因) and Albert Einstein (Ø) are celebrating Thanksgiving day (感恩节) in front of the encampment ((e)n1). Albert Einstein bought a turkey but feels sorry for him. He gives charity to the turkey out of pity (恩赐). The turkey feels very grateful and thanks Albert Einstein (谢恩). René Descartes is so touched by Albert's great deed that René gives him his heart (心).
bar (loanword) (serving drinks, or providing Internet access etc) / to puff (on a pipe etc) / (onom.) bang / abbr. for 貼吧|贴吧[tie1 ba1]
吧
=
口
+
巴
:
Long before Beelzebub was successful with having the snake have Adam and Eve eat the forbidden apples, he made many unsuccessful attempts. One time he was giving the snake mandarin juice out of his stall just on top of the ashram.