土

tǔ = tu + Ø3

Tu (ethnic group) / surname Tu

tǔ = tu + Ø3

earth / dust / clay / local / indigenous / crude opium / unsophisticated / one of the eight categories of ancient musical instruments 八音[ba1 yin1]

土 = 十 + 一 : Tommy Turtle (tu) wants to fix a cross (十) on a flute (一) in the space station's living room (Ø3). He uses dust and clay (土) to hold them together.

土 character breakdown

土
- 一
- 十
  - 一
  - 丨

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.

十

shí = sh + Ø2

ten / 10

十 = 一 + 丨 : Mnemonic symbol: a holy cross. Sherlock Holmes (sh-) is investigating a very strange thing he found in the kitchen of the space station (-2): A big pyramid made of ten (十) crosses (十), which are in turn made out of flutes (一) and dinosaur bones (丨).

Characters with 土 as component

王

wáng = w + ang2

king or monarch / best or strongest of its type / grand / great

王 = 一 + 土 : Mnemonic symbol: Martin Luther King. Willy Walrus (wu) is stuck in a heap of dirt (土) in the anglepod's kitchen (ang2). Martin Luther King (王) helps him by holding out a flute (一).

王

wàng = w + ang4

to rule / to reign over

里

lǐ = li + Ø3

li, ancient measure of length, approx. 500 m / neighborhood / ancient administrative unit of 25 families / (Tw) borough, administrative unit between the township 鎮|镇[zhen4] and neighborhood 鄰|邻[lin2] levels

里

裏

lǐ = li + Ø3

variant of 裡|里[li3]

里

裡

lǐ = li + Ø3

lining / interior / inside / internal / also written 裏|里[li3]

里 = 土 + 田 : Mnemonic symbol: a sunflower. The 田 part looks like the blossom and 土 looks like the stem and leaves. Li Qingzhao (li) wants to put up a field (田) inside (里) the space station's living room (Ø3). First she puts some earth (土) here and there, and then she plants lots of sunflowers (里).

寺

sì = s + Ø4

Buddhist temple / mosque / government office (old)

寺 = 土 + 寸 : Socrates (s) built a Buddhist temple (寺) in the space station's bathroom (Ø4). To protect it from being destroyed while floating around in zero gravity, he built a protective frame made out of mud (土) around it. After finishing it he inspects it and thinks "thumbs up" (寸), because he is proud of his work.

坦

tǎn = t + an3

flat / open-hearted / level / smooth

坦 = 土 + 旦 : Tecumseh (t) is finishing the new floor in the anthill (an3). He prepared a traditional floor made out of earth (土) and is finishing it with a mug (旦). He is hammering the floor smooth and level (坦) using the mug.

埋

mái = m + ai2

to bury

埋 = 土 + 里 : As a sign of peace Mahatma Gandhi (m) buries (埋) a sunflower (里) under some earth (土) in the airplane's kitchen (ai2).

埋

mán = m + an2

used in 埋怨[man2 yuan4]

吐

tù = tu + Ø4

to vomit / to throw up

吐 = 口 + 土 : Tommy Turtle (tu) ate too many mandarins (口) in the space station. He can't help but vomit (吐) until he produced a muddy pile of mandarins (口) in the bathroom (Ø4).