engrave

(pine cone) + (sword)
★★☆☆☆
8 strokes
JERK
Kind of a JERK: in half the common jukugo, it means `grave`or `bad`. Which, if you imagine that YOU`RE the plank that`s going to be engraved by a stranger with a knife, maybe is not so JERKy at all.

Onyomi

KOKU

Scarface Tony Montana engraved a big rock of COKE, cutting it into snortable powder-chunks.

Mnemonic

I engraved the pine cone with my sword.

Kunyomi

きざ*む carve up
★★☆☆☆

Jukugo

遅刻(ちこく) する

arrive late ★★☆☆☆
(slow / late) + (engrave) = 遅刻 (arrive late )

to arrive late for school or work.

深刻(しんこく)

grave situation ★★☆☆☆
(deep) + (engrave) = 深刻 (grave situation)

the situation is grave, serious, and worsening. Used with something that was kind of ill to begin with, and if you don't act now it'll get much worse.

彫刻(ちょうこく)

sculpture ★★☆☆☆
(carve) + (engrave) = 彫刻 (sculpture)

sculpture- but only the kind that is carved all Michelangelo's David style. The Rodin-style sculptures that are cast in bronze are OBJETs (that's right, they use a French word.)

Lookalikes

Meaning Hint Radical
cough MOUTH
nucleus TREE
engrave SWORD
correspond to SAY
whittle down CARROT

You cough with your MOUTH.

The seed is the nucleus of a TREE,

but you carve with a SWORD.

My words correspond to what I SAY.

You whittle a what?? a CARROT,dummy.