Meaning of DWARF in Hanzi mnemonics

Chinese
1

Hi all,

Can someone please explain what “DWARF” means in Hanzi mnemonics? I see this being used all the time like, “The DWARF is standing under a tree.” I’ve tried Googling to the ends of the earth, but with no luck.

Thanks for your help!

2

Do you happen to remember what characters or words you are seeing DWARF appear on? Mnemonics are user made, so someone is equating something with “dwarf” … and I’d love to see if we can find any pattern to what it might mean.

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3

Of course :slight_smile: I should have included some examples in my original question.

Here are a few, but I believe I have seen many more:

  • 力 - There was a POWER surge and the DWARF had to LEAP away.

  • 聿 - YOU used my BRUSH to whack the pig in its PIG SNOUT and to dig in the EARTH complained the DWARF.

  • 目 - In the factory the DWARF keeps his EYE on the WHEEL. He’s in a bad MOOD because the relief shift hasn’t turned up yet.

  • 日 - The DWARF has built a SUN-powered WHEEL and invites all his RELATIONS to come and admire it.

4

This is my best guess after looking at these four examples, so take it with a grain of salt, but I would say DWARF is reserved for characters that are pronounced with the fourth tone. The other capitalizations in the mnemonics help hint meaning and pronunciation elements, so it would appear the “dwarf” is pointing to the tone.

Update added:
While I cannot speak for the writer of these mnemonics, the idea of having some characters, locations, colors, etc. is classic memory palace stuff that helps you group information together in your brain. Kind of like the four tone colors on MDBG, Pleco and lots of other sites, only for this particular person they’re associating a dwarf with the 4th tone.

Again, best guess :grinning:

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5

Ahhh, okay! That makes sense. I really tried to figure it out myself, but just could not. It was driving me crazy, so thank you for taking the time to help out. Have a good day! :slight_smile:

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6

No problem! Glad it helped shed some light on them

7

These mnemonics come from this book, and there is a very specific system to them:

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8

Thanks, Mimosa!

Glad to know the true source of the dwarf :yum: