I am shocked, SHOCKED I tell you there’s someone out there who doesn’t know what an Ent or a TIE fighter is 
I kid. I suppose that 90% of us are massive geeks and will be familiar with this kind of stuff, but there’ll always be things that escape us. The one I had no idea what it was was “cleats”. Had to google it, but I sort of enjoyed the new football knowledge and it actually super-stuck as mnemonic 
I just rename it “studded shoes”.
I tend to dislike the mnemonics that use “Jesus”, or the ones that use “Charlie Sheen”.
I know who both are. The first, I hate the fact that an international teaching aids system has to use religious figures for mnemonics. There has to be better out there that doesn’t necessarily alienate non-Christians. Same goes for the “Angel” radical (just because it has a cross) or the “Pope” ones. Too Catholic for my taste, thankyouverymuch.
The second one I just loathe, although I admit at least that one works.
Beyond that, there are a couple radicals whose names baffle me because they’re words or objects I have never in my life used. While I don’t mind the Sauron one, I recently unlocked two non-standard ones, specifically the ones for “Cleat” and “Hick”.
I’m sorry, but I’ve never heard of either. Reading the explanations I can guess a “Cleat” is one of those shoes with spikes football players wear. As for “Hick”, uh… I quickly went and added “Hillbilly” as a synonym because never before in my life had I heard that word.
I also have a bone to pick with how often radicals mean the same thing or very close. We have Snake and Cobra, Wing and Feathers (not helped by the kanji for the “Feathers” radical meaning “wings”), Hut and Tent (Both in the same level, yay!), Fins, Fish Tail, and Fish, and so on. It just makes it quite difficult to recall sometimes WHICH is which.
I’d be totally frustrated if I didn’t have a penchant for cheating on radicals because they’re quite useless most of the time anyway.
I know who both are. The first, I hate the fact that an international teaching aids system has to use religious figures for mnemonics. There has to be better out there that doesn't necessarily alienate non-Christians. Same goes for the "Angel" radical (just because it has a cross) or the "Pope" ones. Too Catholic for my taste, thankyouverymuch.
Really? You feel alienated? As someone with no religious affiliation, who gives a shit? Does a concept belonging to another religion somehow offend you? Are you that opposed to people different than yourself?
Are you going to feel alienated if a mnemonic mentions a baby, when you aren’t a parent? What if a mnemonic mentions a cat, but you’re allergic?
味 → “And what has more flavor than a big slab of meat? You love meat and its flavor nearly as much as you love the flavor of its juice. So many good things to put in your mouth!”
WTF? What about the vegetarians and vegans among us. The alienation of these people. Outrageous. How dare WaniKani promote slaughtering innocent animals.
I also have a bone to pick with how often radicals mean the same thing or very close. We have Snake and Cobra, Wing and Feathers (not helped by the kanji for the "Feathers" radical meaning "wings"), Hut and Tent (Both in the same level, yay!), Fins, Fish Tail, and Fish, and so on. It just makes it quite difficult to recall sometimes WHICH is which.
Boy are you in for some frustration with the multiple kanji with the exact same meaning. (yeah how their used is different, but the literal word definition is identical)
[quote=“DaisukeJigen, post:24, topic:16770, full:true”]
Are you going to feel alienated if a mnemonic mentions a baby, when you aren’t a parent? What if a mnemonic mentions a cat, but you’re allergic?[/quote]
Laughed out loud at this!
Really though, I have to agree with @DaisukeJigen, even if you’re a bit extreme in pointing out the contradiction in the thinking of the last poster. I guess @Tizzysawr would prefer WK to be ahem… “politically correct” - the convenient excuse for covering your ears every time someone utters anything possible offending or touchy. But hey… even Obama had to step in to beat some common sense in the kids who were crying over what one is allowed to say at college campuses… and I quote:
No offense to Tizzysawr, of course.
I’m a christian and I don’t mind them using Jesus in mnemonics. Why would I? I don’t see a reason why atheists / people of another faith would be insulted either. It’s as good as using Santa, ent or Luke Skywalker for most of us, I reckon.
I’m also a vegan and what-not (labels, labels…), but the only things I’m not too keen on in the mnemonics, is Charlie Sheen (don’t know who that is. Google helped but little) and some use of unfamiliar words (cleat, hoe the gardening tool…)
Last but not least, can’t ever remember which one is say humbly and which one is humbly say (radical or kanji). 
Both are “say humbly” although the kanji accepts humbly say by default, I believe.
I know. The meaning is the same, but at least at some point I remember one of them only accepted humbly say as a correct answer while the other one was the opposite. Should’ve just included their mirror images as synonyms to go around the issue. :3
All I can say here is, do you people really think there would have been no outrage had @koichi decided that 氏 looks like an “A”, and therefore it should mean Allah? Do you think everyone in here would have taken it nicely to read as a mnemonic that 民 contains Allah because it’s the people of Allah, and 邸 Allah’s house, where he cuts off the heads of the infidels?
Thought so. If mention of one religion can make people uncomfortable, then all of them should (except, I guess, stuff like Jedi which is simply made up). There’s a reason one doesn’t speak of politics and religion in polite company unless you’re really close, right?
We just had another knock-down-drag-out thread over the Jew mnemonics (which Koichi is going to change), but the Jesus mnemonics are entirely different.
Right. Your problem is that you decide what offends other people and draw conclusions from that. You people need to chill. If someone gets offended by a speculatory mnemonic using Allah, then they will do so without you raging over it for them. I know I’m not disturbed by small stuff like that and I still don’t see why are you making such a big deal out of a word.
I also have no objections to using Jew mnemonics.
What is it, that triggers such outrage toward things that are clearly not used as a deliberate offense toward anyone?
Take some deep breaths and consider yourself privileged enough to have trivial problems like getting angry over the use of a mnemonic.
Your problem is that you decide when people can be offended and when they can not. Because apparently you were given the power to decide, on your own, how people must feel about one thing or another.
Funny thing, that’s exactly how social oppression often works.
You don’t think the same way others do? You’re free to dissent. But don’t come disrespecting their points of view by acting as if you had the right to tell others how to feel, and if they don’t then they’re wrong or sissies or what have you.
mm-hm. Apologies then, my wording could’ve been better. “Disrespect” is your rendition of what I was trying to say - it is not what I was intending.
Instead of "you people need to chill, I should’ve suggested it…
Let me reconsider:
Context: a language learning site with an international user base
Issue: Is it fine to use value laden words such as Jew, Allah, Jesus… as a way to remember new words and kanji?
As for now, I’m sticking to my view that you are going rather far in “defending people who might possibly at some point get offended” and do suggest, that you don’t take things so seriously. This is a harmless site for the aid of all of us learners. The use of afore mentioned words is clearly done with good intentions.
Also I am not ordering you to feel a certain way, but trying to point out, that maybe you are worrying a bit much? Doesn’t one have enough worries for one’s life? (chuckle) Anyway, anythng else I worded disrespectfully, in your opinion?
Fun fact trivia time! (In case this hasn’t already been posted)
“Cooties” is a word that elementary kids use for a made up type of disease but “cooties” was also used as a secondary term used to talk about body lice. During WWI in the trenches, the body lice that soldiers had were nicknamed cooties. Kinda gross, but true. Also explains why you can’t get close to someone else, because you don’t want to catch their cooties, since physical contact is an easy way to spread lice.
There’s also a popular kid’s game called Cootie in which you assemble a bug from small parts after rolling dice (get it? Because cooties are lice/small bugs)
I doubt this will help some of you remember the mnemonic but I figured I’d share anyways.
Yay! Lighthearted, fact-filled, trivia. 
Cooties is a bad mnemonic, as well as Charlie Sheen, Ent or other cultural reference to some parts of the world. The word “Ent” is not known by everyone, as well as Charlie Sheen if you have a particular age (I know him, for example, but because I’m around 30 right now)
I have no idea what cooties is, I had to read all of your comments and I will never remember.
I’ll pick Cookies instead, but now I have to make up all the mnemonics. Localization is a big problem.
Sometimes when I’m not able to remember using the WK mnemonics, I just use the Henshall ones.