My announcement about the radical ナ

Japanese Language Kanji
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I’ve never, ever, ever been able to remember that this is a “narwhal”. For whatever reason. (Mostly that creature is just not in my consciousness in any way. Must’ve not been one in a past life yet.)

Anyway, just want to announce that I’ve decided that ナ is actually “hug” because it looks like someone coming in for a hug. That’s personal view, not trying to force it on anyone. (and also “hugging someone on a stool” is a good representation of 友 friend)

I’ve made my decision. That is all. Have a good day.

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I just remember it as being the katakana ナ. Though, that’s mostly why “narwhal” is used as the mnemonic.

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That definitely helped me remember the radical itself, but the words “katakana” and “narwhal” have always been too broad, unrelatable, or unmemorable to help me with the visual story-making role of remembering the meanings of the kanji where it’s used.

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I looked up what Narwhal was, then it stuck. It also helped in the sense that I didn’t have to come up with alternate mnemonics.

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I have now changed my perception of this radical and friend. I could never remember friend but now I do. I am no longer without ‘friend’.

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