实际 (shíjì) · actual

实 shí · real

What 实 is made of

• 宀 — roof
  • 丶 — dot
  • 冖mì — cover
• 头tóu — head
  • ⺀ — ice
  • 大dà — big
    • 一 — horizontal stroke
    • 人rén — person

际 jì · border

What 际 is made of

• 阝fù / yì (names) — mound/city side-form
  • 丨 — vertical stroke
• 示shì — altar
  • 二 — two strokes
    • 一 — horizontal stroke
    • 一 — horizontal stroke
  • 小xiǎo — small
    • 亅 — hook
    • 八bā — eight

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