塞

sa̅i = s + ai1

Serbia / Serbian / abbr. for 塞爾維亞|塞尔维亚[Sai1 er3 wei2 ya4]

塞

sa̅i = s + ai1

to stop up / to squeeze in / to stuff / cork / stopper

塞

sài = s + ai4

strategic pass / tactical border position

塞

sè = s + e4

to stop up / to stuff / to cope with

塞 = 基 + 宀 : Socrates (s) wanted to get rid of his graduation cap (宀) and threw it in the elevator's toilet (e4), but now it is clogged (塞). He'll have to dig up the foundation (基) to clear the pipes.

塞 character breakdown

塞
- 基
  - 其
    - 八
      - 丿
      - ㇏
    - 目
      - 二
        
        一
      - 囗
  - 土
    - 一
    - 十
      - 一
      - 丨
- 宀
  - 丶
  - 冖

基

ji̅ = ji + Ø1

(bound form) base; foundation / (bound form) radical (chemistry) / (bound form) gay (loanword from English into Cantonese, Jyutping: gei1, followed by orthographic borrowing from Cantonese)

基 = 其 + 土 : Joan of Arc (ji) has to repair the watchtower (其) In front of the space station (Ø1). The tower needs a new foundation (基), and because it is floating in outer space, Joan of Arc can just add some dirt (土) to its base (基) to create a new foundation.

宀

mián = mi + an2

"roof" radical (Kangxi radical 40), occurring in 家, 定, 安 etc, referred to as 寶蓋|宝盖[bao3 gai4]

宀 = 丶 + 冖 : Mnemonic symbol: the strokes of this character look like a graduation cap (宀).

Marilyn Monroe (mi-) wants to cook in the anthill's kitchen (an2) but she's afraid of the ants. That's why she builds a bunker: she uses a saucepan lid (冖) as the base, constructs pillars out of petals (丶) and uses a graduation cap (宀) as the roof.