Once again I am repeatedly confusing two kanji with each other and look to the wise ones (you guys) for guidance.
I remember that one of these means request and the other means stubborn. I have no trouble remembering the mnemonic stories; ‘the original geoduck had a request that there be more geoducks’ and ‘the origin of the geoduck is a stubborn one’. The problem lies in the similarities between the radical meanings ‘original’ and ‘origin’ if you catch my drift… thus I keep mixing them up.
I think maybe I’ve got the request one more firmly in mind. I imagine GANdalf requesting the original geoduck (he wants the proper original one). But with the other one, that looks a bit like a pie on the left there (Pi at least) and a geoduck is going to be very stubborn about not going in a pie. It wants to stick to its GANtry. So I’ve kind of circumvented the meaning of the radicle there. But it’s working for me at the moment! That’s my tip anyway, you can take it or look really confused as no it doesn’t really address your specific question
I’m not sure I’ll be able to help you either and you might need to just force them into your head until you encounter them in the wild and really cement them.
元 is simple like other symbols in the origins of kanji (火・日・上・下).
原 shows a spring (泉) underneath a cliff, this shows you the original source of water.
That might help you remember the mnemonics. But I’m not sure!
Perhaps it might help to imagine a geoduck stubbornly reciting all the digits of 兀?
You try to explain to it that it cannot be done, but it’s so stubborn that it just keeps going, forever and ever.
In the end, you just have to say “頑batte ne …” and move on.
As eons passed, the world we knew became buried under layers of sand and dust. However, it’s said that if you go to that place and put your ear to the ground, you can still hear that geoduck stubbornly reciting all the digits of pi.
At another point in time, you found a geoduck next to a spring (泉) in the side of a cliff (厂). The geoduck calls out to you in a weak voice; it has nearly dried out from being out of the water for too long. It requests that you put it back inside the spring, so that it can live.
This is helpful for sure, thank you! Usually when memorizing something isn’t working for me, the more mnemonic devices I throw at it the better – something is bound to stick in the end! Plus just the process of writing the differences out helps in cementing them.
A geoduck stubbornly reciting all the digits of 兀 while stubbornly trying to avoid being put in a pie… I think we’ve got something here! Love your masterful storytelling
So, I hate “Geoduck” as a radical name. A made up word that doesn’t mean anything does not, to me, a good mnemonic make. Well, not really made up, but hard to visualize in any useful way (for me, at least).
Anyway, all my mnemonics use that. It helps a lot that the early readings are がん and だい!
Anyway, for request, my mnemonic is asking WK to please (please!) bury the geoduck under a cliff. I just want it gone!
For stubborn, I often see the left part as an altar with shadowy figures (cultists?) around it. This might be from Heisig, or might be one that is my own personal weirdness. Anyway the geoduck is being strapped down and sacrificed, but keeps subbornly getting up. How rude! If it keeps getting up, it’s gonna be a long night for the cult.
I don’t know if that helps, but any chance I get to share a little geoduck abuse is too good a chance to pass up.
Also, “banana candle”? Actual penises?
All I can say is that I admire her willpower.
If I’d be offered those, I’d run away as far and as fast as I could, unless I’d have been starving for weeks…
as no it doesn’t really address your specific question
