Monday, April 11, 2022

A thing that's silly and works is a thing that works.

Over the years I've made fun (in my head) of Heisig for making up little phrases or sentences from kanji radicals as mnemonics for the overall meaning, but maybe I just didn't like his. Telling little stories about kanji really does help. Eg, 退屈 たいくつ taikutsu, bored:

艮 good
⻌ street
出 leaving / exiting / emerging from
尸 door

Bored: It's good in the street, so I'm out the door.

(Even better: 屈 also phonetically is shoes 靴, so I'm so out of here that I'm literally 退ing my shoes....)