用 Little Red

tòng

ache [v.]
疒 + 甬yǒng
sickness + hunter

LRRH’s stomach aches, so the hunter gives her some tums OR hunter uses spear to stab someone “很痛”

tōng

communicate
甬yǒng + 辶
hunter + road

Mother typically used the hunter on the road to communicate with Grandmother

yǒng

courageous
甬yǒng + 力
hunter + muscle

hunter is courageous enough to use his muscles to free Granny

què

reliable
石 + 角jué
stone + Big Bad Wolf

stones in the stomach is a reliable way of getting rid of the Big Bad Wolf

yǒng

*hunter
龴 + 用yòng
spear head + Little Red Riding Hood

the hunter from Little Red Riding Hood

tǒng

bucket
木 + 甬yǒng
wood + hunter

hunter’s wooden bucket

yōng

mediocre
广 + 肀 + 用yòng
cave + rake + Little Red

After the incident with the wolf, grandma felt better about living in a cave where she kept a rake by the door for protection. Little Red thought both provisions were mediocre preventative measures.

yòng

utilize, *Little Red Riding Hood
冂 + 1
hood + bouquet

Little Red utilizes her hood every day when she is picking bouquets.

jiǎo

angle, *Big Bad Wolf
⺈ + 用
mask + Little Red Riding Hood

"Big Bad Wolf disguises himself to fool Little Red Riding Hood." (Little Red)

Think of another angle on the story from the perspective of the Big Bad Wolf.

It is hard to see now, but anciently, this was a picture of an animal's horn, and it can still mean that. (Grandma, what a big horn you have!)

zuǐ

orifice (mouth)
口 + 此 + 角
mouth + this [literary] + Big Bad Wolf

This is the tale of the Big Bad Wolf: what a big mouth you have, or orifice, to be literary

jiě

untie
角jiǎo + 刀 + 牛
Big Bad Wolf + knife + cow

Big Bad Wolf uses a knife to untie the cow to steal him to eat.

Alternatively, the original etymology for this character is an animal horn being separated from a cow with a knife.

用 Little Red

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