元

surname Yuan / the Yuan or Mongol dynasty (1279-1368)

currency unit (esp. Chinese yuan) / first / original / primary / fundamental / constituent / part / era (of a reign) / meta- (prefix) / (math.) argument / variable / (Tw) (geology) eon

元 = 二 + 儿 : Sun Wu Kong offers Yu the Great a coin just inside the anthill's kitchen. As Yu the Great takes it, she's literally shocked: Sun Wu Kong hooked up a capacitor to it to play a bad joke on her, and he's laughing his ass off.

元 character breakdown

元
- 一
- 二
  - 一
- 儿
  - 丿
  - 乚
- 兀
  - 一
  - 儿
    - 丿
    - 乚

一

yi̅ = y + Ø1

one / single / a (article) / as soon as / entire; whole; all; throughout / "one" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 1) / also pr. [yao1] for greater clarity when spelling out numbers digit by digit

Maud Younger (y) forgot her keys to the space station (Ø1), all she brought outside was her flute (一). She has no choice but to crash the door with the giant flute.

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).

儿

rén = r + (e)n2

variant of 人[ren2] / "person" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 10), occurring in 兒, 兀, 兄 etc

兀

wù = w + Ø4

cut off the feet / rising to a height / towering / bald

兀 = 一 + 儿 : Mnemonic symbol: A 胡兀尔, a kind of Chinese fiddle with four strings, more commonly known as 四胡.

兀 = 一 + 儿 : Sun Wukong is playing his 胡兀尔 in the space station's bathroom, but he's deliberatly playing very badly in order to annoy Willy Walrus. Willy Walrus is so annoyed that he threatens to cut off Sun Wukong's feet with a flute if he doesn't stop.

儿

兒

ér = Ø + Ø2

child / son

儿 = 丿 + 乚 : Mnemonic symbol: "son" (儿) sounds similar to "Sun" like in "Sun Wu Kong", so it's gonna be represented by the monkey king. Albert Einstein (Ø-) and Sun Wu Kong (儿) are fighting in the space station's kitchen (-Ø2). Their weapons: Albert Einstein has a shovel (乚), and Sun Wu Kong has a banana (丿).

儿

兒

non-syllabic diminutive suffix / retroflex final

Characters with 元 as component

玩

翫

wán = w + an2

variant of 玩[wan2] / Taiwan pr. [wan4]

玩 = 元 + 王 : Martin Luther King asks Willy Walrus for the entrance fee for tonight's concert just inside the anthill's kitchen. Willy Walrus makes fun out of snatching away the coin again just when Martin is about to grab it. When he finally gives it to Martin Luther King, Martin finds out that it's just a toy chocolate coin.

玩

wán = w + an2

to play / to have fun / to trifle with / toy / sth used for amusement / curio or antique (Taiwan pr. [wan4]) / to keep sth for entertainment

园

園

yuán = yu + an2

surname Yuan

园 = 元 + 囗 : Yu the Great receives a big wooden box just inside the anthill's kitchen. It's written that it comes from the land of growing plants, but as she opens it, she finds out that it's actually full of coins.

园

園

yuán = yu + an2

land used for growing plants / site used for public recreation / abbr. for a place ending in 園|园, such as a botanical garden 植物園|植物园, kindergarten 幼兒園|幼儿园 etc

完

wán = w + an2

to finish / to be over / whole / complete / entire

完 = 元 + 宀 : In other characters: A checkered flag.

完 = 元 + 宀 : Willy Walrus celebrates finishing his degree just inside the anthill's kitchen. He wears a graduation cap, gets lots of coins and somebody waves with a checkered flag.

顽

頑

wán = w + an2

mischievous / obstinate / to play / stupid / stubborn / naughty

顽 = 元 + 页 : Willy Walrus (w) is stubbornly (顽) packing each and every coin (元) he possesses in sheets of paper (页) in the anthill's kitchen (an2).

顽 = 元 + 页 : In the very beginning on page one we were quite stubborn.

远

遠

yuǎn = yu + an3

far / distant / remote / (intensifier in a comparison) by far / much (lower etc)

远 = 元 + 辶 : In anthill Yu the Great spent already hundreds of coins on a claw crane, because she wants these gladiator sandals so badly. She tries again and again, but she always moves the claw too far.

远

遠

yuàn = yu + an4

to distance oneself from (classical)

㝴

Character component without intrinsic meaning

冠

guàn = gu + an4

surname Guan

冠

guàn = gu + an4

to put on a hat / to be first / to dub

冠 = 冖 + 元 + 寸 : After a long day of work Gitta Giraffe (gu) empties her hat (冠) in the anthill's bathroom (an4), puts the coins (元) in her pocket and puts the hat on (冠). She tosses the cooking top (冖) in a corner and gives herself the thumbs up (寸).

冠

gua̅n = gu + an1

hat / crown / crest / cap

冠 = 冖 + 元 + 寸 : Gitta Giraffe (gu) is busking in front of the anthill (an1). She has a hat (冠) lying in front of her, but the hat is protected by a cooking top (冖). Many passersby give her the thumbs up (寸) or put some coins (元) into her hat.

阮

ruǎn = ru + an3

ruan, a four-stringed Chinese lute

阮

ruǎn = ru + an3

surname Ruan / small state during the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BC) located in the southeast of modern-day Gansu Province