新陈代谢 (xīnchéndàixiè) · metabolism

新 xīn · new

What 新 is made of

• 亲qīn — relatives
  • 立lì — to stand
    • 亠tóu — lid
    • 丷ha — kwukyel
    • 一 — horizontal stroke
  • 一 — horizontal stroke
  • 小xiǎo — small
    • 亅 — hook
    • 八bā — eight
• 斤jīn — a catty (about 500 grams)
  • 厂chǎng — cliff
  • 下xià — down

Origin hint: A freshly chopped 斤 tree 亲 (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)

陈 chén · to display

What 陈 is made of

• 阝fù / yì (names) — mound/city side-form
  • 丨 — vertical stroke
• 东dōng — east
  • 七qī — seven
    • 一 — horizontal stroke
    • 乚 — hook stroke
  • 小xiǎo — small
    • 亅 — hook
    • 八bā — eight

代 dài · on behalf of

What 代 is made of

• 亻rén — person
• 弋yì — to catch

Origin hint: A man 亻 caught 弋 by the passing of time (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)

谢 xiè · thank

What 谢 is made of

• 讠yán — speech
• 射shè — to shoot
  • 身shēn — body
  • 寸cùn — inch

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