to invite / to recruit / to levy (taxes) / to draft (troops) / phenomenon / symptom / characteristic sign (used as proof) / evidence
征
=
彳
+
正
:
James II of England (zh) recruited (征) the stick figure (正) to join him on an expedition (征). Legend has it that an ancient civilization left their black sneakers (彳) in front of the engine ((e)ng1). After they dug up most of the ground they finally find the sneakers.
(possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的[de5]) / him / her / it
之
=
丶
+
Z
:
Mnemonic symbol: Sooo sleepy... "zZz" (the character looks like a "Z"). James II of England (zh) fell asleep in front of the space station (Ø1). He sleeps on a big petal leaf (丶), making loud "zZz" (之) sounds.
sound / voice / tone / noise / reputation / classifier for sounds
声
=
士
+
尸
+
丨
:
Sherlock Holmes (sh) hears the terrifying sound (声) of bone (丨) on stone in front of the engine ((e)ng1), and he's sure that there must be a ghost (尸). Indeed it's only the bachelor (士) who wants to scare Sherlock.