down / downwards / below / lower / later / next (week etc) / second (of two parts) / to decline / to go down / to arrive at (a decision, conclusion etc) / measure word to show the frequency of an action
下
=
一
+
卜
:
Mnemonic symbol: from the up/down logic, and a little bit the shape of the character, a ladder.
Xi Shi (xi) is on a retreat in the ashram. Using a voodoo staff (卜), she divined that next (下) week she'll have to play the flute (一) sixteen hours per day. Because she hates playing the flute, she climbs over the ashram's bathroom (a4) wall using a ladder (下) to escape.
腺
=
月
+
泉
:
On a moonlit (月) night, Xi Shi (xi) booked a spa day at a hot water spring (泉) that turned out to be the bathroom in an anthill (an4). The ants were polite but insisted on a tiny towel and a strict “no cannonballs” policy. When the steam hit her, a gland (腺) in her elbow chimed in like a wellness coach, declaring this “peak exfoliation.” The moon (月), acting like a nosy neighbor, asked for a review, and Xi Shi (xi) gave it four stars—minus one for the long line of ants judging her bath-time poetry.