生存

生

she̅ng

存

cún

to exist / to survive

Characters and words in 生存

生

she̅ng = sh + (e)ng1

to be born / to give birth / life / to grow / raw / uncooked / student

生 = 牛 + 一 : Mnemonic symbol: a cradle.

Sherlock Holmes (sh) comforts a crying baby bull (牛) in a cradle (生) in front of the engine ((e)ng1) and plays him a tune on a flute (一).

存

cún = cu + (e)n2

to exist / to deposit / to store / to keep / to survive

存 = 一 + 仔 : Mnemonic symbol: a floppy disc. Kitty Cat (cu) wants to protest against the law that women have to wear skirts, so wearing jeans (仔) she dances and plays a flute (一) in the encampment's kitchen ((e)n2) and records her demonstration on a floppy disc (存) to upload it later to her livejournal.