子
son / child / seed / egg / small thing / 1st earthly branch: 11 p.m.-1 a.m., midnight, 11th solar month (7th December to 5th January), year of the Rat / Viscount, fourth of five orders of nobility 五等爵位[wu3 deng3 jue2 wei4] / ancient Chinese compass point: 0° (north) / subsidiary / subordinate / sub-
子 character breakdown
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.
(completed action marker) / (modal particle indicating change of state, situation now) / (modal particle intensifying preceding clause)
to finish / to achieve / variant of 瞭|了[liao3] / to understand clearly
了
=
乛
+
亅
:
Mnemonic symbol from "to finish" and the shape of the character: a prize cup.
Li Qingzhao (li) is responsible for manufacturing a prize cup (了). She only needs to add a poetic engraving. Unfortunately, she suffers from a writer's block. In the aorta's living room (ao3), someone left a cryptic message engraved on the walls using a sickle (乛), which is still lying on the floor. Being an accomplished poet Li Qingzhao is able to understand the message clearly (了), realizes its poetic potential and starts to engrave it on the prize cup using a crowbar (亅).
Li Qingzhao (li) is responsible for manufacturing a prize cup (了). She only needs to add a poetic engraving. Unfortunately, she suffers from a writer's block. In the aorta's living room (ao3), someone left a cryptic message engraved on the walls using a sickle (乛), which is still lying on the floor. Being an accomplished poet Li Qingzhao is able to understand the message clearly (了), realizes its poetic potential and starts to engrave it on the prize cup using a crowbar (亅).
Characters with 子 as component
surname Sun
孙
=
孑
+
小
:
Susan Saint Bernard (su) was lucky enough to catch and eat a mosquito (孑) in front of the encampment ((e)n1), but two weeks later, the mosquito's grandson (孙) comes to fight Susan Saint Bernard and avenge the death of his grandfather. Susan Saint Bernard is a little embarrassed and offers a daisy (小) as peace offering.
grandson / descendant
孙
=
孑
+
小
:
Susan Saint Bernard (su) was lucky enough to catch and eat a mosquito (孑) in front of the encampment ((e)n1), but two weeks later, the mosquito's grandson (孙) comes to fight Susan Saint Bernard and avenge the death of his grandfather. Susan Saint Bernard is a little embarrassed and offers a daisy (小) as peace offering.
thick / deep or profound / kind / generous / rich or strong in flavor / to favor / to stress
surname Meng
孟
=
子
+
皿
:
Mnemonic symbol: Mencius, 孟子.
Mencius (孟) poses Mahatma Gandhi (m) a riddle in the engine's bathroom ((e)ng4). He asks Mahatma Gandhi to have an egg (子) sit upright on the table. Mahatma Gandhi gives up after many tries and Mencius shows him how to do it: using a shallow bowl (皿) as egg cup.
Mencius (孟) poses Mahatma Gandhi (m) a riddle in the engine's bathroom ((e)ng4). He asks Mahatma Gandhi to have an egg (子) sit upright on the table. Mahatma Gandhi gives up after many tries and Mencius shows him how to do it: using a shallow bowl (皿) as egg cup.
first month of a season / eldest amongst brothers
孟
=
子
+
皿
:
Mnemonic symbol: Mencius, 孟子.
Mencius (孟) poses Mahatma Gandhi (m) a riddle in the engine's bathroom ((e)ng4). He asks Mahatma Gandhi to have an egg (子) sit upright on the table. Mahatma Gandhi gives up after many tries and Mencius shows him how to do it: using a shallow bowl (皿) as egg cup.
Mencius (孟) poses Mahatma Gandhi (m) a riddle in the engine's bathroom ((e)ng4). He asks Mahatma Gandhi to have an egg (子) sit upright on the table. Mahatma Gandhi gives up after many tries and Mencius shows him how to do it: using a shallow bowl (皿) as egg cup.
Words with 子
new emperor, new officials (idiom) / a new chief brings in new aides
to deal a single fatal blow / (fig.) to totally repudiate sb because of a minor error
lit. you cannot get fat with only one mouthful (proverb) / fig. learn to walk before you run
lit. a full bottle makes no sound; a half-filled bottle sloshes (idiom) / fig. empty vessels make the most noise