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dike
土 + 是
soil + is
Character Notes

a dike is soil put in place to prevent what may be

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fēng
peak
山 + 夆féng
mountain + briars
Character Notes

make your way up the mountain through the briars to the peak

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yàn
flame
火 + 臽xiàn
fire + trap
Character Notes

Don't touch the flame. Fire is pretty but it's a trap.

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jiū
entangle
纟 + 丩jiū
thread + horn
Character Notes

A thread gets entangled on the horn’s valves.

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purple
此cǐ + 糸
this [literary] + fine silk
Character Notes

This is the tale of Roman emperor Aurelian who famously wouldn't allow his wife to buy a shawl made from Tyrian purple silk (dyed with a pigment made from the mucus of Murex snail) because it literally cost its weight in gold.

You've probably already learned 此cǐ in 些xiē "some" and 嘴zuǐ "mouth".

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yìng
reflect
日 + 央yāng
sun + center
Character Notes

Focus sunlight on the center of a mirror to reflect it.

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jiàn
arrow
竹 + 前qián
bamboo + in front
Character Notes

An arrow is made of bamboo and flies in front of you.

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máng
boundless
艹 + 氵 + 亡wáng
flowers + water + deceased
Character Notes

Arlington cemetery: boundless flowers, water, deceased

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xiè
bits
尸 + 肖xiào
flag/corpse + resemble
Character Notes

alternatively: 尸 + 小 + 月 corpse + small + body part, corpse destroyed, small body parts resembling bits

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bào
expose
日 + 暴bào
sun + violent
Character Notes

laying something out in full sunlight gives it violent exposure

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chù
touch [v.]
角 + 虫
Big Bad Wolf + insect
Character Notes

"What a big insect you have on your head!" Big Bad Wolf reached up to touch it, and it flew away.

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yōng
mediocre
广 + 肀 + 用yòng
cave + rake + Little Red
Character Notes

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.

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zuàn
drill [v.]
钅 + 占zhān
metal + tell fortunes
Character Notes

modern shaman uses metal drill to tell fortunes rather than a 卜

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bàn
blend
扌 + 半bàn
hand + half
Character Notes

use hand to blend the half and half

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pàn
betray
半bàn + 反fǎn
half + against
Character Notes

betray your other half by going against your better self

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huì
converge
氵 + 匚
water + box
Character Notes

a relay race where team members converge with water to fill a box

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cōng
onion
艹 + 匆cōng + 心
flowers + hurriedly + heart
Character Notes

Benjamin Bunny tramples among the flowers and tries to hurriedly take the onions, with an anxious heart.

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wěn
kiss [v.]
口 + 勿wù
mouth + knot
Character Notes

to kiss is to tie your mouth in a knot with someone else

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cōng
hurriedly
勿 + 丶
knot + drop
Character Notes

if you hurriedly tie a knot, a part of it might get dropped

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