优胜劣汰 (yōushèngliètài) · survival of the fittest

优 yōu · superior

What 优 is made of

• 亻rén — person
• 尤yóu — especially
  • 尢yóu — weak
    • 乚 — hook stroke
  • 丶 — dot

Origin hint: 亻 gives the meaning, 尤 gives the sound. (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)

胜 shèng · to win

What 胜 is made of

• ⺼ — meat
• 生shēng — life
  • 一 — horizontal stroke
  • 土tǔ — earth
    • 十 — ten
    • 一 — horizontal stroke

Origin hint: ⺼ gives the meaning, 生 gives the sound. (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)

劣 liè · low-quality

What 劣 is made of

• 少shǎo — few
  • 小xiǎo — small
    • 亅 — hook
    • 八bā — eight
  • 丿 — falling stroke
• 力lì — strength
  • 丿 — falling stroke

汰 tài · to eliminate

What 汰 is made of

• 氵shuǐ — water
• 太tài — very
  • 大dà — big
    • 一 — horizontal stroke
    • 人rén — person
  • 丶 — dot