How to create mnemonics for general, abstract or overlapping character components

Memory techniques typically rely on connecting concepts in memorable ways. They can be used to remember everything from playing cards to Chinese characters.

As anyone who has tried using mnemonics knows, however, some concepts are easier to connect than others.

Mountains, trees and rocks are easy to use in mnemonics. But what do you do with character components whose meanings are general, abstract or overlapping?

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Some character components are easier to connect than others

Character components that represent concrete nouns and action verbs are fairly easy to connect in memorable ways using mnemonics. If this is the first time you’ve heard about mnemonics for learning Chinese characters, I recommend reading this article before continuing: Remembering is a skill you can learn: Mnemonics for Chinese learners.

Remembering is a skill you can learn: Mnemonics for Chinese learners

Grammar words, adjectives and less concrete nouns are more challenging, probably because they are abstract. This matters when learning Chinese characters because we have no control over what characters and components mean. If you’re new to Chinese characters and want to read more about their building-block nature, check the series of articles starting here: Chinese characters, ideograms and words: A beginner’s guide.

Some components are concrete but too general or vague, making them hard to remember. Others are abstract and hard to visualise in the first place. A third problem is overlap: two or more components or characters might have meanings that are close enough that your mnemonics start interfering with each other.

Three problems, three solutions

In this article, we’ll look at three related but distinct problems:

1. General meanings can be visualised but are too broad. “Mountain”, “tree”, “stone” and “weapon” can all be pictured, but the image is often too vague to be useful.
2. Abstract meanings aren’t easy to picture directly. “Good”, “already” and “self” aren’t things you can simply place in a scene.
3. Overlapping meanings require distinct mnemonics. This can happen with concrete meanings, such as several components all referring to types of old weapons, or with abstract meanings, such as several characters meaning “I” or “me”.

These three categories won’t cover every tricky case you encounter, but they do cover most of them.

Mnemonics don’t need to be mental images

When I use words like “visualise” or “picture” in this article, I don’t necessarily mean that you need to form a mental image of the components and how they interact.

You can, for example, imagine objects interacting without visualising them. Some people are unable to visualise in this way, but can still use mnemonics.

Mnemonics are also not limited to one sense, so you can use what things sound and feel like, as well as how they smell and taste. Still, for the sake of clarity, I will use words like “visualise” instead of vaguer, more abstract ones.

Create specific images for character components with general meanings

The first problem is that some meanings are too general.

This is especially common when relying on other people’s mnemonics, including those I mention on Hacking Chinese. When you encounter common components such as 石 (shí), 木 (mù) or 山 (shān), don’t just think “stone”, “tree” or “mountain”. These are general concepts. Instead, think of a specific stone, tree or mountain.

• For 石, you might picture a rough boulder, too heavy to lift.
• For 木, picture the gnarled apple tree outside your grandmother’s house.
• For 山, picture a cartoon mountain with three absurdly sharp peaks.

If nothing comes to mind, searching for a picture online can do the trick.

Why concrete images are easier to remember

This is related to the Baker/baker effect (see McWeeny et al., 1987). If one group is told that someone is “a baker” and another group is told that the person’s name is “Baker”, the first group is more likely to remember the word, even though the word itself is the same.

The reason is that the profession “baker” is associated with a rich set of impressions and experiences. It might bring to mind flour, bread, ovens and similar concepts. “Baker” as a surname, however, is just a name, a label. Unless you know a specific person called “Baker”, that is.

This principle also applies to learning compound Chinese characters. Just thinking “stone”, “tree” or “mountain” won’t cut it. A more specific image can interact with other elements in more specific ways, which is what makes the mnemonic work.

The building blocks of Chinese, part 4: Learning and remembering compound characters

Specific images can do specific things

A good mnemonic is rarely just a pile of objects. The elements should interact.

A hand should grab, push or pull. A mountain should crush something, block the way or have something crash into it. Water should soak things. Fire should scorch. A mouth should bite, chew or kiss.

Creating specific interactions between components is much easier if you have a clear idea or image in mind for each one. I’ve written more about this in this article (especially in the section about making associations uniquely tied to the components): How to make Chinese easier by using mnemonics and memory techniques.

How to make Chinese easier by using mnemonics and memory techniques

Anchor abstract character components with a concrete anchor

Character components with abstract meanings create a different problem because they can be hard to visualise in the first place. How do you visualise “good” or “self”?

In such cases, don’t try to picture the dictionary definition directly. Instead, try to anchor the abstract meaning to something more concrete. For example, this could be an older meaning or a particularly clear example. When discussing memory techniques, concrete stand-ins for abstract concepts are called “pegs”.

自 (zì), “self”, is a useful example. “Self” is a fairly abstract word. Ancient forms of 自 depict a nose, which is the character’s original meaning. The meaning “self” developed later, and one traditional explanation is that people point to their own nose when referring to themselves. Either way, the older concrete meaning, “nose”, gives us an obvious image for “self”.

This doesn’t mean that you need to study palaeography every time you want to create a mnemonic. It just means that if the modern meaning is not concrete enough, the original meaning usually is, and sometimes, this can be used instead.

The concrete anchor doesn’t have to be the true origin of the character. As long as it’s distinct, you can make something up, too. For example, you can use a thumbs-up emoji to mean “good”.

Still, if the real explanation is useful, you should use that. The reason is that it actually teaches you something about the Chinese writing system, and this can come in handy later, which is not the case if you invent an anchor or peg instead.

To keep overlapping meanings distinct, be specific

The third problem is overlap. Sometimes a mnemonic works to remember a single character but fails when there are multiple characters with overlapping meanings. If the mnemonics for two components are too similar, you will probably confuse them. This problem is similar to learning words with partially overlapping meanings.

It’s also related to the problem of general meanings discussed above, since general meanings are more likely to overlap.

Overlapping meanings can be devious because they are rarely apparent at first. For example, you might think that “some kind of ancient weapon” is specific enough for 戈, but later learn that there are in fact many other components that also fit this description.

Thus, you can have groups of components that are similar to each other and make you confuse compound characters they appear in, sometimes without you noticing. For more about how to detect such issues, check Dealing with Chinese characters you keep mixing up.

Dealing with Chinese characters you keep mixing up

Overlapping general meanings: Ancient weapons

There are at least three common components that depict some kind of ancient Chinese weapon:

• 戈, a dagger-axe or halberd-like weapon
• 矛, a spear or lance
• 殳, a staff-like weapon or cudgel

This is a clear case where “ancient weapon” isn’t enough. Even “halberd” and “lance” might be too vague. Here’s how I keep them separate. I try to stay close to the real etymology when I can.

For 戈, I imagine a polearm with a side blade sticking out. For 矛, I imagine a straight spear without a side blade. For 殳, I imagine a blunt staff-like weapon, more like a cudgel.

This might not be historically perfect (although it’s still pretty good), but that’s not the point. We’re language learners, not historians. The important thing is that the images are distinct.

You can make the distinction stronger by giving each component a typical action. 戈 can chop and slash, 矛 can pierce and 殳 can crush and bludgeon.

If you think of these three components this way instead of simply labelling all of them “ancient weapon”, you’ll find it much easier to remember the characters they appear in.

Persistent confusion like this should be dealt with directly rather than through more undirected review. I’ve written more about this here: Chinese characters and words that refuse to stick: Killing leeches.

Chinese characters and words that refuse to stick: Killing leeches

Overlapping abstract meanings: Several versions of I or me

Some characters are hard because their meanings overlap in a more abstract way. One of the worst cases is probably characters that mean “I” or “me”. There are at least four:

• 我
• 余
• 予
• 吾

If you look these up and simply write “I” or “me” for all of them, you are asking for trouble. The meaning is too abstract, and several characters share it. You need different images.

Here is how I deal with them:

• 我: This is the normal “I” used in modern Chinese. I picture myself, but not vaguely. I use a specific image of myself (the one I’ve used on social media for a decade, to be specific).
• 余: This can mean “I” in classical Chinese, but also “in excess of”. I imagine a very old version of myself in an old people’s home. I lack teeth, but have everything else in excess, including years of age. I call this “old me” for short.
• 予: This can also mean “I” in classical Chinese. Since it looks similar to 子, I think of myself as I appear in photos from when I was two or three years old. This is “young me”.
• 吾: This can also mean “I” in classical Chinese. I imagine myself as a five-mouthed monster, all mouths screaming at once. This is “five-mouth monster me”.

Most people reading this article are learning modern Mandarin, not Classical Chinese, so the point here isn’t to figure out exactly when these versions of “I” or “me” are used and when they’re not. The point is mnemonic: four overlapping meanings need four different concrete images.

For more about learning Classical Chinese, see Learning Classical Chinese is for everyone (no, seriously!).

Learning Classical Chinese is for everyone (no, seriously!)

How close should you stay to the real story?

There’s no shame in deviating from the real meaning or origin of a character if that helps you remember it. Of course, it’s better to stick to the real story when you can, but sometimes the real explanation is unknown, too complicated or not helpful. I have written a full article about this: 5 levels of understanding Chinese characters: Superficial forms to deep structure.

At least check what the real etymology is.

If it’s helpful, use it. If it’s not, make something up.

This isn’t a case where relying more on historical data is always better. The goal is to learn characters, not the evolution of the Chinese writing system. We only care about the latter insofar as it helps us with the former!

5 levels of understanding Chinese characters: Superficial forms to deep structure

This doesn’t mean that imagination should replace learning. Invented mnemonics can be excellent, but you shouldn’t confuse them with explanations of how characters really work.

For example, I could decide that 戈 is a giraffe, 矛 is a toothpick, and 殳 is my old mathematics teacher. If these images worked, they might help me remember characters, but they wouldn’t teach me anything about Chinese, and they’d probably become a mess when I encounter the same components again in other characters. For starters, I’d need to write this down since the associations are completely made up.

Even if the real meaning of a component isn’t helpful in one character, it might be helpful in another. The closer you stay to what the component actually represents, the more likely it is that your image will keep paying off when the component recurs.

How to look up information about Chinese characters

Most resources you find when searching for information about Chinese characters are rubbish. How polished a site, app or book looks isn’t a good gauge of the quality of the information it contains.

I primarily recommend two resources:

• The Outlier Dictionary of Chinese Characters: This is a paid, one-time-purchase add-on to Pleco. It’s worth every cent. It’s the easiest way to access reliable information about Chinese characters.
• Zi.Tools: This is a powerful free resource for exploring Chinese characters. It contains a lot of information you probably don’t need and is harder to use, but it’s otherwise excellent.

Review: The Outlier Dictionary of Chinese Characters

Warning #1: Use other people’s mnemonics carefully

I’ll end this article with two warnings. First, other people’s mnemonics can be useful, but they can also cause problems.

A mnemonic that is vivid for someone else might be vague for you. A person who loves historical weaponry might easily distinguish a dagger-axe, a spear and a cudgel, while someone else just sees three old weapons.

Use other people’s mnemonics as inspiration, not as finished products. This includes mine.

Before adopting a mnemonic, ask:

• Is the image concrete enough?
• Is it distinct from similar images?
• Can it interact with other elements in a useful way?

Research on self-generated mnemonics points in the same direction (Tullis & Finley, 2018). In experiments on learning chemistry, learners remembered more when they generated their own mnemonics than when they read mnemonics generated by others (Tullis & Qiu, 2022).

Warning #2: Don’t use mnemonics for everything

Second, you shouldn’t create elaborate mnemonics for every character or component you encounter. Mnemonics cost time and energy, and sometimes things stick without much effort. When that happens, move on.

Use mnemonics when you need them, especially when:

• You keep forgetting a character or component.
• You keep confusing two or more similar characters or components.
• The meaning is too abstract or general to remember easily.

Don’t use mnemonics for everything when learning Chinese

Conclusion: How to create mnemonics for general, abstract and overlapping Chinese characters and components

The main point is that not all difficult components are difficult in the same way.

• If the meaning is general, make it specific.
• If it’s abstract, find a concrete anchor.
• If several meanings overlap, make the images deliberately distinct.

Concrete and distinct images are also easier to combine in memorable ways because each component can interact in ways that fit what it represents.

All articles about mnemonics and memory techniques on Hacking Chinese

Here’s a complete inventory of articles about mnemonics and memory techniques for learning Mandarin, beginning with two introductory articles you should read first:

1. Remembering is a skill you can learn: Mnemonics for Chinese learners
2. How to make Chinese easier by using mnemonics and memory techniques

Once you know what mnemonics are and how they work in principle, it’s time to look at specific aspects. You don’t need to read these in any particular order, just choose topics you find interesting.

• How to use mnemonics to learn Mandarin tones and pronunciation
• Don’t use mnemonics for everything when learning Chinese
• Are mnemonics too slow for Chinese learners?
• How to create mnemonics for general or abstract character components
• Chinese characters and words that refuse to stick: Killing leeches
• Cultivate your Chinese flashcard garden… or burn it down and start afresh

References and further reading

McWeeny, K. H., Young, A. W., Hay, D. C., & Ellis, A. W. (1987). Putting names to faces. British Journal of Psychology, 78(2), 143–149.

Tullis, J. G., & Finley, J. R. (2018). Self-generated memory cues: Effective tools for learning, training, and remembering. Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 5(2), 179–186.

Tullis, J. G., & Qiu, J. (2022). Generating mnemonics boosts recall of chemistry information. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 28(1), 71–84.

Editor’s note: This article, originally published in 2013, was rewritten and republished in August 2026.