down / downwards / below / lower / later / next (week etc) / second (of two parts) / to decline / to go down / to arrive at (a decision, conclusion etc) / measure word to show the frequency of an action
下
=
一
+
卜
:
Mnemonic symbol: from the up/down logic, and a little bit the shape of the character, a ladder.
Xi Shi (xi) is on a retreat in the ashram. Using a voodoo staff (卜), she divined that next (下) week she'll have to play the flute (一) sixteen hours per day. Because she hates playing the flute, she climbs over the ashram's bathroom (a4) wall using a ladder (下) to escape.
个
=
丨
+
人
:
Neanderthal Man (人) needs to use the elevator's bathroom (e4) but it's occupied by Guy Fawkes (g), and there's only space for one individual (个). Impatiently Neanderthal Man knocks on the door using his dinosaur bone (丨).
星
=
日
+
生
:
The sun (日) and a satellite (星) had a love affair and now have a baby: Xi Shi (xi) is quietly sleeping in her little cradle (生) in front of the engine ((e)ng1).
期
=
其
+
月
:
Recently the Queen of Hearts (qi) has become an astronomer. In front of the space station (Ø1) she sits on top of a watchtower (其) and watches the moon (月). From the moon's movement around the tower she wants to calculate its period and phase (期). She didn't consider though that not only the moon is orbiting around her, she is also orbiting the moon.
期
=
其
+
月
:
Recently the Queen of Hearts (qi) has become an astronomer. In front of the space station (Ø1) she sits on top of a watchtower (其) and watches the moon (月). From the moon's movement around the tower she wants to calculate its period and phase (期). She didn't consider though that not only the moon is orbiting around her, she is also orbiting the moon.