Mnemonic for 保つ (たもつ)

[Torao92]

hey,

as stated in the title I need some inspiration for making up a mnemonic for 保つ. I just can’t think of anything that’ll stick in my head and I don’t really like the custom mnemonic wanikani gives me.

Thanks in advance

[samezuka]

What kind of mnemonic do you need? Are you trying to remember the way the kanji looks (via radicals - tree, mouth, leader) or the on’yomi or kun’yomi? Or all three?

I’m running with the definition of to preserve or to maintain here.

For example, for the kanji: The leader ate some spicy food, and the only thing that could preserve his mouth was sap from a special tree.

Or the on’yomi: Your significant other is being a real ホ but you still wanna preserve your relationship.

The best I can do right now for kun’yomi : You want to maintain your Japanese studies at least through the month (たも - ta month)

[Dorotheian]

You don’t want weevils getting in your rice, right? You want to preserve it and keep having (持つ) the fruits of your rice field (田). The more rice fields you own (田を持つ), the more you have to 保つ.

For a visual, look at it like a staff-carrying scarecrow (staff on left, mouth on a tree = scarecrow on the right), preserving or 保つ-ing your rice from crows.

[Tsuki70]

To remember the reading I think of たもつ as "たばこを持つ. I imagine two friends talking and one of them is trying to quit smoking so his friend offers to hold his tobacco for him so as to not be tempted to smoke. But since they’re so close to understand one another w/o needing to speak in full sentences, "たばこを持つ” turns to "たもつ”.