约

ya̅o = y + ao1

to weigh in a balance or on a scale

yue̅ = yu + e1

to make an appointment / to invite / approximately / pact / treaty / to economize / to restrict / to reduce (a fraction) / concise

约 = 勺 + 纟 : Marilyn Monroe is on a date with a silk worm in front of the elevator. Marilyn wants to show the silk worm around, and so she carries him around on a little silver spoon.

约 character breakdown

约
- 勺
  - 丶
  - 勹
    - 丿
    - ㇆
      - 一
      - 亅
- 纟

勺

sháo = sh + ao2

spoon / ladle / CL:把[ba3] / abbr. for 公勺[gong1 shao2], centiliter (unit of volume)

勺 = 丶 + 勹 : Mnemonic symbol: as 勺 should not be confused with 匕 (ladle), the mnemonic symbol for 勺 is a small silver spoon.

Sherlock Holmes (sh) feeds an elephant (勹) medicine in the aorta's kitchen (ao2). The medicine looks like a petal leaf (丶), and Sherlock Holmes uses a small silver spoon (勺) to feed it to the elephant.

纟

糹

si̅ = s + Ø1

"silk" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 120), occurring in 紅|红[hong2], 綠|绿[lü4], 累[lei4] etc / also pr. [mi4]

A silk worm.

Characters with 约 as component

药

葯

yào = y + ao4

leaf of the iris / variant of 藥|药[yao4]

药 = 艹 + 约 : Maud Younger is on a date in the aorta, but she has to pass gas all the time. In the bathroom she desperately eats a sheet of artificial lawn, thinking that it should be the right medicine for her.

药

藥

yào = y + ao4

medicine / drug / substance used for a specific purpose (e.g. poisoning, explosion, fermenting) / CL:種|种[zhong3],服[fu4],味[wei4] / to poison

哟

喲

yo̅ = y + o1

Oh! (interjection indicating slight surprise)

哟 = 口 + 约 : Maud Younger (y) is going to go on a date (约). To freshen up her breath she eats a mandarin (口) in front of the observatory (o1), but she accidentally swallows the mandarin whole and exclaims "哎哟" out of pain and surprise (哟).

哟

喲

yo = y + o5

(sentence-final particle expressing exhortation) / (syllable filler in a song)

约

约 character breakdown

Characters with 约 as component

Words with 约

Sentences with 约