03 Lesson 3

Question 1

Olden times

Answer 1

旧

Walking stick days

Question 2

Oneself

Answer 2

自

Japanese point to nose to indicate themselves - think of ‘we all belong to the same nose hole society.’

Question 3

white

Answer 3

白

Question 4

hundred

Answer 4

百

99th birthday is white because this is what you get when you take the one on top of the hundred character away

Question 5

in

Answer 5

中

Question 6

thousand

Answer 6

千

Pair it with ‘measuring’ box, with one more vertical line - also this is ‘ten’ with an eye dropper on top squeezing out 2 more zeros to make a thousand

Question 7

tongue

Answer 7

舌

A thousand mouths make a ‘lengua’

Question 8

measuring box

Answer 8

升

Also the wooden box Julie Youmans drank sake out of it has needles through it and it’s scary

Question 9

rise up

Answer 9

昇

Imagine a Rasta Japanese singing ‘Rise Up’ at the Cubby Bear at Sunrise and holding high his Sake drinking box

Question 10

round

Answer 10

丸

A round baseball player has extra material around his middle

Question 11

measurement

Answer 11

寸

One drop of a measurement of 10, but usually ‘glue’

Question 12

elbow (kanji)

Answer 12

肘

BODY plus GLUE: Think of hockey elbowing - you stick it against someone’s BODY

Picture: Gordie Howe with giant elbow pads which he is STICKING to someone.

Question 13

specialty

Answer 13

専

Ten rice fields glued together- making SPECIAL artisanal rice like at the little fair in Niigata in the special little bowl below the highways

Question 14

Dr.

Answer 14

博

NEEDLE / SPECIALIST (TEN / RICE FIELDS / GLUE)

DOCTOR is Specialist with a needle

Picture: Dr Carroll the pediatrician giving me a very unwanted shot

Question 15

fortune-telling

Answer 15

占

Mouth with a. Magic wand

Question 16

above

Answer 16

上

It’s magical to oppose gravity and remain above ground

Question 17

below

Answer 17

下

Question 18

eminent

Answer 18

卓

MAGIC WAND SUNFLOWER

Picture: An EMINENT professor (Tom Garbaty) uses a magical sunflower to teach Chaucer - ‘of which vertu engendred is tha flour.’

Question 19

morning

Answer 19

朝

A misty morning

MIST plus MOON -

Picture: Dawn over a misty pond as moon goes down. Imagine the morning in Montana “that bears would like.”

Question 20

derision

Answer 20

嘲

MOUTH plus MORNING (MIST plus MOON) - DERISION leaves a bad taste like morning mouth.

Picture: Mean hockey players pointing at me because I am gross and didn’t brush my teeth. (IRL, shower)

Compare to BULLYING (FLOWERS / CAN), which also features mean hockey players.

How to get there from “derision”: to “morning mouth” ?

Question 21

Mist

Answer 21

Sunflower with a needle (needles of rain)

Picture: needles of rain falling gently on sunflowers in Motul garden