占

佔

zhàn = zh + an4

variant of 占[zhan4]

占

zha̅n = zh + an1

to observe / to divine

占

zhàn = zh + an4

to take possession of / to occupy / to take up

占 = ⺊ + 口 : Mnemonic symbol: a yellow umbrella. James II of England occupies the anthill's bathroom (an4). He uses a pennant (⺊) stuck into a mandarin (口) to mark his territory, and stands there proudly with a yellow umbrella (占).

占 character breakdown

占
- 卜
  - 丨
  - 丶
- 口
- ⺊
  - 一
  - 丨

卜

bǔ = bu + Ø3

(bound form) to divine / to forecast or estimate / (of a place to live etc) to choose

卜 = 丨 + 丶 : Mnemonic symbol from "to divine" and the shape of the character: a voodoo staff.

Bruno Bear (bu-) tries to divine (卜) the future in the space station's living room (Ø3). He places a petal (丶) in the middle of the room as an offering and starts a magic ritual with his voodoo staff (卜). The staff transforms the petal into a dinosaur bone (丨). Bruno divines that the staff was trying to tell him that all things are mortal and must come to an end.

口

kǒu = k + ou3

mouth / classifier for things with mouths (people, domestic animals, cannons, wells etc) / classifier for bites or mouthfuls

Mnemonic symbol: 口 shall be represented by a mandarin. Karl Marx (k-) is enjoying a mandarin in the outhouse's living room (ou3).

卜

蔔

bo = b + o5

see 蘿蔔|萝卜[luo2 bo5]

⺊

Character component without intrinsic meaning

⺊ = 丨 + 一 : Mnemonic symbol: ⺊ looks a bit like a pennant.

Someone stuck a flute into the middle of a hollow dinosaur bone to conduct studies on the speed of sound. At the one end of the hollow dinosaur bone is an answering pennant, used in the International Signal Code primarily for the reply "signal is received and understood", which should be raised as soon as the person is hearing the sound made by the flute.