One worker renovates the window from outside, with both feet balanced on the narrow window ledge. Inside, his coworker holds a rope tied around his waist, trying to keep him from falling. That tense bit of teamwork is the visual hook for 装修 (zhuāng xiū) — to renovate or decorate an interior.
In this drawing, a customer visits a bank counter with a wood-chopping knife tucked into the back of his waistband. To him it is an everyday working tool; at a bank, its unexpected appearance makes the scene startling. That contrast helps you remember 取钱 (qǔ qián): to withdraw money.
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挤 (jǐ) means to squeeze into a tight space. This grey cat fills its cardboard box, with one paw hanging over the edge. The snug fit helps you remember 挤.
飞 (fēi) means to fly through the air. Imagine a little fly riding a paper airplane past a cloud—now FLY and 飞 are easy to remember.
A duck (鸭, yā) leans on a big button to press it. In Chinese, 鸭 (duck) and 压 (press) both sound like yā, so the duck helps you remember 压 (yā).
On a deck railing, a hamster hugs a flowered watering can almost as big as itself and tips it toward a pot of pink flowers. That careful pour is 浇水.
浇水 (jiāo shuǐ) means “to water” plants. 浇 means to pour liquid over something, and 水 is water, so the word is literally “pour water.” The WATER in the drawing is the verb, not the noun.
Say what gets the water with 给 (gěi): 给花浇水 (gěi huā jiāo shuǐ), water the flowers.
我每天给花浇水。 — Wǒ měitiān gěi huā jiāo shuǐ. — I water the flowers every day.
今天下雨，不用浇水。 — Jīntiān xià yǔ, bú yòng jiāo shuǐ. — It’s raining today, so there’s no need to water.
