第二十六天

[nnozomi]

今早醒来的时候，有了非常多评论，好惊讶好开心。。。我现在忙坏了，以后肯定会回复！

以前，before (a given time) (opposite of 以后）
https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Before_a_specific_time_with_%22yiqian%22

Like 以后 this one seems to be used on its own more often than not.
Guardian:
谁知道呢，也许以前真的见过吧。(You've met him before, Shen Wei, but he hasn't met you yet.)
以前的事情我也不是很清楚。(以前 as an adjective, I guess?)
特调处跟以前不一样了. (The SID is no longer the same as it was before.)

My practice:
我以前每天都吃了巧克力，现在在禁巧克力中 (I know this is absolutely not real Chinese)
交货期两个小时以前才提出了工作。

Comments

[scytale]

I don't know if this will help, but:

- the top part looks like a timeline to me, with two segments, for before and after. Or the antenna on the Android logo, if you prefer!
- On the bottom-left is the moon, which is very time-related, and on the right is a knife

Okay, so my brain immediately goes, "draw the timeline first, and then prepare to CUT AND EAT THE MOON!", and every time I write it, I get a little hungry (since I am pretty sure the moon tastes delicious). Possibly our android friend eats moon rocks, if the moon-devouring works for you but the timeline doesn't?

It might work better to think that if you cut a unit of time, you get a 前 and a 后. And a timeline like you have at the top.

There's also a real history/story that might work for you: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E5%89%8D#Glyph_origin and https://kanjiportraits.wordpress.com/tag/the-kanji-%E5%89%8D/ (it's the number 6). The top is a foot, the left is a shoe or a boat. The right... it doesn't say, but I guess you can still fit a knife as a symbol of division in there.

[trobadora]

Thank you, those are some awesome suggestions! I especially like the timeline association, because that sounds like I might actually be able to remember it, LOL.

And I really appreciate the links about the history - that is all fascinating!

CUT AND EAT THE MOON!

*giggles* That is hilarious. Thank you! :D :D :D

[scytale]

You're welcome! And thank you for posing the question, because I realized I've been writing 前 wrong all this time. For some reason I thought it was a three dots on top of the line at the top! So now I know.

The history was new to me as well, and I didn't except the boat/shoe! I found the breakdown really poetic and satisfying; I love it, actually.

[grayswandir]

I'm enjoying your mnemonics. :) The idea of cutting slices of moon (crescent, quarter, half?) as a time-measuring-method actually seems very logical to me!

[scytale]

I'm enjoying making them! It's making me realize that I'm maybe very visual/image-based in terms of how I learn things too, actually.

[presumenothing]

CUT AND EAT THE MOON!

I saw this before the surrounding context and still refuse to believe we're not discussing mooncakes. In fact I nearly typed mooncakes instead of context there. Mooncakes!

[scytale]

Mooncakes are the context!

(We can discuss mooncakes if you want, and they are delicious, but I just want to nibble a cartoon moon! For the glory if nothing else.)

[presumenothing]

New-and-obviously-true 嫦娥 story to combine both: obviously she flew up there to assert dominance and chomp the moon, which is why we have mooncakes.

(my ancestors are gonna come after me for this post)

[scytale]

And why there are shadows in the moon!

(I'm sure she gave the bunny a piece, too.)

[nnozomi]

This whole discussion is an excellent mnemonic! <3 <3 <3 🌛🐰🥮

[trobadora]

♥ ♥ ♥