Make a Movie 士

KEYWORD:

Soldier

Pinyin:

shì

Actor:

shi-/sh- Male

Set:

-Ø childhood home

Room within Set:

  Bathroom or Backyard 

Prop(s):

 十 Syringe

一 Razor Blade

Notes:

This is the only time in the MB Hanzi sequence that two characters have the same components in the same positions 士 & 土. Their meanings are completely different of course, Soldier & Soil respectively, however, the only difference is that the “Razor Blade” in 士 Soldier is shorter. As a result of this, be sure to make it clear that your razor blade is shorter in length, perhaps a square instead of a rectangle. Because the two mnemonics take place with entirely different MM Actors, it shouldn’t be a problem, but just be aware of this subtle difference.

Member Comments from 2019-mid-2020

Do you also want to leave a comment? You can do so below！

Tyson

Before Shawn can enter the military and become a soldier, he must shave and take a TB test (which involves a slight injection under the skin). He does both in the bathroom of my childhood home. Once he has shaved and taken the test, he leaves the bathroom ready to become a soldier. The scene ends with a closeup on the syringe [十] above the razor [一] in the small trashcan.

MB Team

Here's the link to where Phil & Luke talked about this comment in the Mandarin Blueprint Podcast:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIOkWrRuRmU&t=2839s

Image credit: CC BY 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons