自大一点就臭。You can say that no matter literally or metaphorically. Literally, 自 + 大 +丶＝ 臭; metaphorically, if someone is 自大（arrogant, pretentious), he or she will be 臭(repulsive).
Radical mound 阝阜: on the left or right?
The radical mound 阝is originally from the character 阜 fù. Characters with the radical mound 阝have to do with “terrain, rise, lower, etc” or its extended meaning. Continue reading “Radical mound 阝阜: on the left or right?”
Natural phenomena related to rain 雨
You know frost 霜 shuāng fog, 雾 wù dew, 露 lù thunder, 雷 léi hail, 雹 báo etc, are all natural phenomena related to water vapor in the air. These natural phenomena are best demonstrated by Chinese characters composed of the radical 雨.
Tips:
Upon seeing characters with 雨 on the top, just think of the natural phenomena related to water vapor. These characters are semantic top-phonetic bottom such as 雨 yǔ + 非 fēi ＝ 霏fēi, 雨 yǔ + 厉 lì ＝ 雳 lì.
Characters related with 口 mouth
How to gnaw? Of course with your mouth and teeth. 口(mouth) + 齿(teeth) → 啮(gnaw) niè
What do you wanna keep in your mouth? Of course something delicious or sweet (甘).
What do you feel if you taste something sweet with your tongue? Of course you feel sweet. 舌(tongue) + 甘(sweet/sth. sweet) → 甜(sweet) tián
Component snake 它
它 tā, originally a snake, is used as a pronoun “it” in modern Chinese. It can act as phonetic component to form characters. Many of the characters formed by the phonetic component snake 它 have the same pronunciation tuó. Continue reading “Component snake 它”