身份证 (shēnfènzhèng) · identity card

身 shēn · body

What 身 is made of

身 is not built from smaller parts; it is written with 7 strokes.

Origin hint: A pregnant woman (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)

份 fèn · measure word for portions and copies

What 份 is made of

• 亻rén — person
• 分fēn — to divide
  • 八bā — eight
  • 刀dāo — knife
    • 丿 — falling stroke

Origin hint: The lot or portion 分 allotted to a man 亻 (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)

证 zhèng · certificate

What 证 is made of

• 讠yán — speech
• 正zhèng — first month of the lunar year
  • 一 — horizontal stroke
  • 止zhǐ — to stop
    • 上shàng — above
    • 丨 — vertical stroke

Origin hint: To speak 讠 the truth 正; 正 also provides the pronunciation (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)