MEANING
ENGLISH:
A lot, many, several, much, abundant, abundance, plenty
SPANISH:
Muchos, varios, abundante, abundancia, bastante
Family: Letters
EXPLANATION
This a abstraction combined with an abbreviated visual cue. It combines the ‘’A’’ and the ‘’L’’ from ‘’A lot’’.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Specific, exact, particular, precise, accurate
SPANISH: Específico, exacto, particular, preciso
EXPLANATION
This is an abstraction of a bullseye. When you ‘’hit the bullseye’’ you are ‘’accurate’’, ‘’on point’’.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Angle, acute, pointy, sharp
SPANISH: Ángulo, agudo, puntiagudo
Families: Math
EXPLANATION
This is the symbol for ‘’angle’’ in math. It’s also acute because an acute angle is less than 90 degrees, most likely you will draw this angle with less than 90 degrees. It’s also pointy because it has a little corner on the left is pointy (triangle sets are also pointy/sharp).
MEANING
ENGLISH: Address, location, locate, position
SPANISH: Dirección, ubicación, ubicar, localizar, posición
Family: Circles, Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is a visual abstraction from a radar/GPS.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Affect
SPANISH: Afectar
Families: Letters, Medicine
EXPLANATION
I created a new character from the letter ‘’A’’ and ‘’F’’ as in ‘’affect’’.
MEANING
ENGLISH
After, afterwards
SPANISH:
Después
Families: Arrows
EXPLANATION
The arrow departs from the left (past) and moves to the right (future). Something happened before and the arrow or vertical line happens after.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Afternoon, evening
SPANISH: Tarde
Family: Compound symbols, image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is the combination of two symbols: the moon and the sun. If you combine them, you get the moon with sun rays which means afternoon.
MEANING
ENGLISH: All, everything, entire, complete, total, whole
SPANISH: Todo, entero, completo, total
Family: Letters, Math
EXPLANATION
Math symbol.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Permission, permit, allow, let
SPANISH: Permiso, permitir, dejar que...
Families: Arrows, Letters
EXPLANATION
This is a combination of the ‘’good’’ symbol and a bent ‘’P’’ to make it stand out.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Alone, just, single, unique, self
SPANISH: Solo, único
Families: Arrow, Punctuation marks
EXPLANATION
The angle brackets are ‘’isolating’’ the short horizontal line. So, the line is on its own.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Always, forever, eternal, infinite
SPANISH: Siempre, para siempre, eterno, infinito
Families: Math
EXPLANATION
This is the math symbol for ‘’infinite’’ which can also mean forever in plain language.
MEANING
ENGLISH: And, also
SPANISH: Y, también
Families: Letters
EXPLANATION
The ampersand symbol. It literally means ‘’and’’.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Animal, pet, dog, cat
SPANISH: Animal, mascota, perro, gato
Families: Image abstractions, Circles
EXPLANATION
MEANING
ENGLISH: Answer, reply, response
SPANISH: Respuesta, responder
Families: Letters
EXPLANATION
This is the ‘’A’’ of ‘’Answer’’. The curved line instead of the horizontal line in the ‘’A’’ tweaks it a little bit. It’s odd enough to remember it’s the ‘’A for answer’’.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Anxiety, anxious
SPANISH: Ansiedad, ansioso
Families: X family, Letters, Medicine
EXPLANATION
MEANING
ENGLISH: Apply, application
SPANISH: Aplicar, aplicación
Families: Letters
EXPLANATION
There are two ways of drawing this symbol. The abbreviation is ‘’a’’ and ‘’p’’ from ‘’apply’’. The ‘’p’’ is on top of the ‘’a’’ to make it stand out as a weird ‘’a’’, ‘’p’’.The other option is the abstraction of an applicator.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Date, appointment, schedule
SPANISH: Fecha, cita, agendar, programar
Families: Lines
EXPLANATION
The three lines stand for DD/MM/YY (3 empty slots) _/_/_ which becomes _ _ _
MEANING
ENGLISH: Are
SPANISH: Son, es
Families: Letters
EXPLANATION
This is an abbreviation from ‘’Are’’. Once you choose a letter to represent something, stick to that meaning. Don’t use the same letter for something else.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Arm, shoulder, forearm, muscle
SPANISH: Brazo, hombro, antebrazo, músculo
Families: Body parts, Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a strong arm.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Arrive, arrival
SPANISH: Llegar, llegada
Families: Letters
EXPLANATION
The arrow is going somewhere and arrives at the vertical line. The vertical line indicates that the arrow has arrived at its destination.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Vein, artery, vessel
SPANISH: Vena, arteria, vaso (sanguíneo)
Families: Body parts, Medicine, Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is an abstraction of the ramification of veins and arteries in the body.
MEANING
ENGLISH: As
SPANISH: Como
Families: Slashes, Letters
EXPLANATION
The ‘’a’’ from ‘’as’’. The purpose of the slash is twofold: 1) to let me know there is an idea coming and 2) to differentiate the letter ‘’a’ to make it stand out as a unique type of ‘’a with a slash’’
MEANING
ENGLISH: Question, query, ask, inquire
SPANISH: Pregunta, preguntar
Families: Math
EXPLANATION
Standard question mark.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Attack, assault, offense, abuse, shot, weapon
SPANISH: Ataque, agresión, delito, abuso, disparar, arma
Families: Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is an abstraction of a pistol.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Aunt
SPANISH: Tía
Families: Family members
EXPLANATION
This is another way of representing females and males. I add the repetition of the letters because a family is ‘’a repetition of genes’’, reproduction (produce again, repeat).
A niece is to her aunt what a daughter is to her mother.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Avoid, bypass, evade, prevent
SPANISH: Evitar, evadir, prevenir
Families: X family
EXPLANATION
The horizontal line is ‘’interrupted’’ by the X in the middle. This ‘’X’’ prevents these two lines from touching.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Back, spine
SPANISH: Espalda, columna
Families: Body parts, Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a human spine. A lot of English verbs add the termination ‘’back’’ like call back, come back, etc. Remember that the symbol prompts you to hear a sound just like you hear the sound of words when you hear them. But you make sense of the sounds of the words with the context.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Bag, purse
SPANISH: Bolsa, bolso
Families: Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a purse. I didn’t draw the full circle because of Gestalt (your brain completes the missing lines).
MEANING
ENGLISH: Football, soccer, ball
SPANISH: Fútbol, pelota, bola
Families: Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a football ball.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Balloon, party, bladder
SPANISH: Globo, fiesta, vejiga
Families: Body parts, Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a balloon.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Barrier, fence
SPANISH: Barrera, verja, valla
Families: Image abstractions, Lines
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a fence.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Basic, support, base, tolerate, stable
SPANISH: Básico, soporte, base, tolerar, estable
Families: Lines
EXPLANATION
This is an abstraction and an arbitrary symbol. The vertical light is standing ‘’completely upright’’ on the horizontal line, it’s not wobbly, not bent, or inclined, which means the vertical line is strong enough to stand upright (support). The idea of ‘’basic’’ comes from the notion that if something is basic then there might be something advanced moving forwards, meaning that the basic units support or are the ‘’foundation’’ of the advanced ones.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Beautiful, beauty, pretty, gorgeous, cute, fancy
SPANISH: Lindo, hermoso, bonito, elegante, belleza
Families: Lines
EXPLANATION
This is an arbitrary symbol. It reminds me of beautiful, elegant fonts.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Because
SPANISH: Porque
Families: Connectors, Letters
EXPLANATION
The ‘’B’’ and the ‘’C’’ from ‘’Because’’
MEANING
ENGLISH: Bed, bedroom, room
SPANISH: Cama, habitación, cuarto
Families: Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a bed.
MEANING
ENGLISH:
Before, previously, in the past, former
SPANISH:
Antes, previamente, anteriormente, en el pasado
Families: Arrows
EXPLANATION
The line is pointing to the left, which means ‘’past’’. Depending on the word you may change the abbreviation on top of the arrow.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Hope, expect, believe, belief, hopeful
SPANISH: Esperar, creer, esperanza, creencia
Families: Lines, Emotions
EXPLANATION
This is an arbitrary symbol that I started to use because it reminds me of a happy face (when you hope for something, if it happens it will make you happy).
MEANING
ENGLISH: Bell, reception, buzzer
SPANISH: Campana, recepción, timbre
Families: Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a counter call bell.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Chest, belly, abdomen, stomach, torso
SPANISH: Pecho, barriga, abdomen, estómago, torso
Family: Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a belly. I use the ‘’Cx’’ symbol when they say ‘’chest’’ because of the X family (Fx = fracture, Dx = Diagnosis, Bx = Biopsy), etc. I wouldn’t use Cx for ‘’belly, stomach’’, because the first thing you will think about when you see ‘’Cx’’ will be ‘’chest’’. The abstraction is more general.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Below
SPANISH: Debajo
Families: Punctuation marks
EXPLANATION
If you put the parenthesis under another symbol, the parenthesis will be ‘’below’’ it.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Bend down, squat
SPANISH: Agacharse, ponerse en cuclillas
Families: Arrows
EXPLANATION
This is a combination of symbols and also an abstraction. The horizontal lanes bend in an arch and then we have the arrow pointing downwards to indicate ‘’down’’ as in ‘’bend down’’.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Besides
SPANISH: Además
Families: Letters, Slashes
EXPLANATION
The ‘’b’’ and ‘’s’’ from ‘’besides’’. The purpose of the slash is twofold: 1) to let me know there is an idea coming and 2) to differentiate the letters ‘’b’’ and ‘’s’’ to make them stand out as a unique type of ‘’b and s with a slash’’
MEANING
ENGLISH: Better, improve, improvement
SPANISH: Mejor, mejorar, mejoría
Families: Arrows
EXPLANATION
This symbol derives from the symbol for good. It has the little arrow on the upper right corner to indicate it’s a special kind of good, it’s better.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Big, large, huge, long
SPANISH: Grande, gigante, largo
Families: Punctuation marks, Lines
EXPLANATION
This is an abstraction. The horizontal line is very long. It occupies a large portion of the paper.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Bike, motorcycle
SPANISH: Bicicleta, motocicleta, moto
Families: Circles, Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a motorcycle or bike. The two circles are the wheels.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Blurry, blurred
SPANISH: Borroso
Families: Compound symbols, Circles, Medicine
EXPLANATION
This is the combination of two symbols. The symbol for ‘’see’’ and a wobbly line that means insecurity. If your vision is blurry you are not sure about what you are seeing.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Board, panel, dashboard
SPANISH: Board, panel, tablero
Families: Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a chalkboard.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Body, corpse, physical, live
SPANISH: Cuerpo, cadaver, físico, vivir
Families: Image abstractions, Body parts, Medicine
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a human body.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Bone, bony
SPANISH: Hueso, huesudo
Families: Body parts, Medicine, Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a bone.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Bottom
SPANISH: Abajo
Families: Letters
EXPLANATION
This is an arbitrary symbol. The accent mark is below the letter ‘’i’’. (upside down ‘’i’’). The accent mark is at the bottom of the ‘’i’’
MEANING
ENGLISH: Bread, wheat, cereal, rice, oats, grain
SPANISH: Pan, trigo, cereal, arroz, avena, grano
Families: Image abstractions, Foods
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a wheat plant.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Breast, nipple, areola
SPANISH: Seno, pezón, aureola
Families: Body parts, Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is a combination of a strong arm.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Bring
SPANISH: Traer, llevar
Families: Arrows, Compound symbols
EXPLANATION
This is the combination of the letter ‘’b’’ and the symbol for ‘’go’’. The result is a laid down ‘’b’’ with an arrow. I didn’t draw the full ‘’b’’ to save strokes.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Brother, bro
SPANISH: Hermano
Families: Family members, Letters
EXPLANATION
This is another way of representing females and males. I add the repetition of the letters because a family is ‘’a repetition of genes’’, reproduction (produce again, repeat).
MEANING
ENGLISH: Brother in law
SPANISH: Cuñado
Families: Family members, Compound symbols
EXPLANATION
This is another way of representing females and males. I add the repetition of the letters because a family is ‘’a repetition of genes’’, reproduction (produce again, repeat).
A combination of symbols.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Brush, scrub, broom, sweep
SPANISH: Cepillo, restregar, escoba, barrer
Families: Image abstractions, Lines
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a broom.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Building, build, construction
SPANISH: Edificio, construir, construcción
Families: Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is an abstraction from a city skyline.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Business, company, suitcase
SPANISH: Empresa, compañía, maleta
Families: Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a business suitcase.
MEANING
ENGLISH: But
SPANISH: Pero
Families: Connectors, Letters
EXPLANATION
The ‘’B’’ from ‘’But’’.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Butter, margarine, lard
SPANISH: Mantequilla, margarina, manteca
Families: Image abstractions, Foods
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a block of butter.
MEANING
ENGLISH: By
SPANISH: Por, a través de
Families: Slashes, Letters
EXPLANATION
The ‘’b’’ for ‘’by’’. The purpose of the slash is twofold: 1) to let me know there is an idea coming and 2) to differentiate the letter ‘’b’’ to make it stand out as a unique type of ‘’b with a slash’’
MEANING
ENGLISH: Can, have
SPANISH: Poder, tener
Families: Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
The hand symbol (as in being able to do something with your own hands or have something in your hands. You can add a subscript as follows:
MEANING
ENGLISH: Cancer, cancerous, cancerogenic
SPANISH: Cáncer, canceroso, cancerígeno
Families: Letters, Medicine
EXPLANATION
This is an abbreviation.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Cane, limp, crutches
SPANISH: Bastón, cojear, cojo, muletas
Families: Medicine, Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a cane.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Car, vehicle, automobile
SPANISH: Carro, vehículo, automóvil
Families: Image abstractions, Circles
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a car.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Case
SPANISH: Caso
Families: Letters
EXPLANATION
This is a visual cue + abbreviation. The ‘’c’’ from ‘’case’’. and I draw a little line on top to make it a special kind of ‘’c’’ so I never confuse it with anything else.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Catheter, catheterization, port
SPANISH: Catéter, cateterismo, puerto
Families: Image abstractions, Medicine
EXPLANATION
This is an abstraction of an IV bag.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Cause, consequence, lead to, provoke
SPANISH: Causar, consecuencia, conllevar, provocar
Families: Connectors, Arrows
EXPLANATION
This is an arbitrary symbol. I chose it because it’s fast to draw and it’s unique.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Cell, jail, prison
SPANISH: Celda, cárcel, prisión
Families: Medicine, Legal, Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is an abstraction of the idea of being ‘’behind bars’’.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Professional, merit, medal, certificate, certification, certify
SPANISH: Profesional, mérito, medalla, certificado, certificación, certificar
Families: Image abstractions, Circles
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a medal. When you give a medal to someone you recognize their outstanding skills, like those of a professional.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Cervix, cervical
SPANISH: Cérvix, cervical
Families: Letters, Body parts
EXPLANATION
This is the combination of a ‘’C’’ and a ‘’V’’ into a single character.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Chair, sit
SPANISH: Silla, sentarse
Families: Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a chair.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Change, modify, alter, swap, switch, modification, alteration, vary
SPANISH: Cambiar, modificar, alterar, modificación, alteración, variar
Families: Basic shapes, Math
EXPLANATION
This triangle means ‘’change’’ in math equations (especially chemistry)
MEANING
ENGLISH: Check, monitor, supervise
SPANISH: Revisar, monitorear, supervisar
Families: Image abstractions, Circles
EXPLANATION
This is an abstraction of the lens of a security camera.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Child, children, youth, baby, childish, infant
SPANISH: Niño, niños, juventud, bebé, infantil, infante
Families: Image abstractions, Family members
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a lollipop. Children love lollipops and sweets. The lollipop is tilted because the little stick is completely vertical it could be easily confused with other symbols like that of ‘’woman’’.
EXPLANATION
This is the symbol for ''pi'' in math. The pi number is irrational, which means it does not end. The idea of something chronic is also the idea of something constant, without an ending, like ''pi.''
MEANING
ENGLISH:Chronic, constant
SPANISH: Crónico, constante
Families: Math
EXPLANATION
This is the symbol for ''pi'' in math. The pi number is irrational, which means it does not end. The idea of something chronic is also the idea of something constant, without an ending, like ''pi.''
MEANING
ENGLISH: Clean, cleaning, sanitize, mop, wash, disinfect, clear up, clear
SPANISH: Limpiar, limpio, limpieza, sanear, trapear, lavar, desinfectar, claro
Families: Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a broom you use to clean.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Ladder, rail, climb
SPANISH: Escalera, barandal, trepar
Families: Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a ladder.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Close
SPANISH: Cerrar
Families: Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is a door. The door handle is locked.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Closet, cupboard, pantry
SPANISH: Closet, armario, despensa
Families: Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a closet.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Cold, coldness, chills, frozen
SPANISH: Frío, frialdad, escalofríos, congelado
Families: Medicine, Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a snowflake. I added a line on top so I don’t confuse it with the symbol for ‘’police’’
MEANING
ENGLISH: Comfortable, comfort, accommodate
SPANISH: Cómodo, comodidad, acomodar
Families: Image abstractions, Medicine
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a person with their arms laid back, sitting, calmly looking at the horizon.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Statement, communication, dialogue, conversation
SPANISH: Declaración, comunicación, diálogo, conversación
Families: Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is a ‘’thought bubble’’ commonly used in comics.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Government, community, politics, property, public
SPANISH: Gobierno, comunidad, política, propiedad, público
Families: Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of the Greek/Classic design that government buildings tend to have.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Condom, rubber, Jhonny
SPANISH: Condón, ‘’gorrito’’
Families: Image abstractions, Medicine
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a condom.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Private, confidential, secret
SPANISH: Privacidad, confidencial, secreto
Families: Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a padlock. You use a padlock to keep something away from others, just like you would do with a secret or something private. It’s a round padlock because it’s easier to draw.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Confirm, sure, confidence, make sure, certain, definitely, certainly, surely
SPANISH: Confirmar, claro, confianza, asegurarse, seguro, definitivamente, seguramente, desde luego
Families: Arrows
EXPLANATION
This symbol derives from another symbol. It’s the same as ‘’good’’ but with a little tweak to make it different. So, it’s not only good, but it’s certainly good, sure, confident…
MEANING
ENGLISH: Doubt, confusion, confuse, confused
SPANISH: Duda, confusión, confundir, confundido
Families: Punctuation marks, Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is a person moving their hands to their head or scratching their head as a sign of confusion.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Continue, keep on, move forwards
SPANISH: Continuar, seguir
Families: Arrows
EXPLANATION
This is the same symbol for ‘’go’’ but with a little tweak to make it stand out. As you’ve seen, arrows have a lot of uses in note-taking.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Control, controlled
SPANISH: Controlar, controlado
Families: Letters
EXPLANATION
This is the ‘’C’’ as in ‘’control’’, the little
MEANING
ENGLISH: Bowl, kitchen, soup, stew, brew, cook, broth
SPANISH: Tazón, bol, cocina, sopa, guiso, cocinar, caldo
Families: Image abstractions, Food, Medicine
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a bowl with a spoon inside.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Copy, replica, duplicate
SPANISH: Copia, réplica, duplicar, duplicado, copiar
Families: Lines
EXPLANATION
We have two identical symbols. One is the exact copy of the other. This is an arbitrary symbol. I decided to use it because I can draw it quickly and it’s weird enough to jumpstart my memory
MEANING
ENGLISH: Cord, rope, string
SPANISH: Cuerda, soga, hilo
Families: Lines, Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a cord. The little curls at the end are there to not confuse it with the symbol for ‘’soft’’.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Cough, spit
SPANISH: Toser, escupir
Families: Compound symbols, Medicine
EXPLANATION
This is the symbol for mouths combined with some liens that represent ‘’saliva drops’’
MEANING
ENGLISH: Could
SPANISH: Podría
Families: Modal verbs, Letters
EXPLANATION
The ''C'' and ''L'' as in ''could''.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Cousins
SPANISH: Primos
Families: Family members, Letters
EXPLANATION
This is another way of representing females and males. I add the repetition of the letters because a family is ‘’a repetition of genes’’, reproduction (produce again, repeat).
MEANING
ENGLISH: Over, cover
SPANISH: Encima, cubrir
Family: Punctuation marks
EXPLANATION
If you put something under the parenthesis, the parenthesis will be ‘’over’’ it.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Cream, jelly, gel, ointment, paste
SPANISH: Crema, gel, unguento, pasta
Families: Image abstractions, Medicine
EXPLANATION
This is an abstraction of a jar of cream.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Drink, beverage, cup, alcohol
SPANISH: Beber, bebida, taza, vaso, alcohol
Families: Foods, Image abstractions, Medicine
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a glass cup with a straw.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Heal, cure, soothe, alleviate, relief, recovery
SPANISH: anar, curar, aliviar, alivio, recuperar
Family: Medicine, Lines
EXPLANATION
This is an arbitrary symbol. There is no particular reason why I created this symbol. It just stuck with me and it’s distinctive enough.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Cut, chop, trim, split, divide, rupture, separate
SPANISH: Cortar, mochar, partir, dividir, romper, ruptura, separar
Families: Lines, Slashes, Medicine
EXPLANATION
This is an abstraction of a blade cutting a continuous line and after that, the line is segmented because of the blade.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Daughter
SPANISH: Hija
Families: Family members
EXPLANATION
The two angled brackets mean repetition. As a family member, you are part of the same, you are a copy of your grandparents or your parents, the bottom angle bracket is the offspring of the first angle bracket. I use an angle bracket to differentiate it from the parentheses I use for parents and grandparents.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Day, morning, daily, summer
SPANISH: Día, mañana, diariamente, verano
Families: Circles, Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
Abstraction from the sun.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Decision, decide, pick, select, determine, vote
SPANISH: Decisión, decidir, elegir, seleccionar, determinar, votar
Families: Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a hand pointing at something using the index finger.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Deep, profound, depth
SPANISH: Hondo, profundo, profundidad
Families: Arrows
EXPLANATION
The downwards arrow is below the surface of the horizontal line. It’s deep below.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Define, definition, meaning, mean
SPANISH: Definición, definir, significado, significar
Families: Punctuation marks
EXPLANATION
You use the colon to define things, to explain their meaning.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Deform, disfigure, distort
SPANISH: Deformar, desfigurar, distorsionar
Families: Letters
EXPLANATION
This is the combination of the letter ‘’d’’ as ‘’deform’’ and the little curly thread below shows the deformation of the ‘’d’’. It works as a single character.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Give birth, delivery, birth
SPANISH: Dar a luz, parto, nacimiento
Families: Image abstractions, Medicine
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a woman with her legs open giving birth.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Depend, condition, conditional, rely on
SPANISH: Depender, condición, condicional
Families: Arrows
EXPLANATION
This is an arbitrary symbol. I use it because I can draw it quickly and it’s unique enough to remind me what it means.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Table, desk, counter
SPANISH: Mesa, escritorio, mostrador
Families: Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a table.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Detail, detailed, point, aspect
SPANISH: Detalle, detallado, punto, aspecto
Families: Lines
EXPLANATION
This is a very arbitrary symbol. The dot is like a small, but specific part of something. Imagine this is a macro view of a grain of sand on your fingertip. That’s the level of ‘’detail’’. Or it could be just the point of something and the arch around it is to make it stand out so we don’t miss it when we read back our notes.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Diagnosis, diagnose
SPANISH: Diagnóstico, diagnosticar
Families: X family, Medicine
EXPLANATION
This is an abreviation.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Death, die
SPANISH: Muerte, morir
Families: Medicine
EXPLANATION
This is an abstraction of the cross on top of tombstones.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Different, differentiate, unequal
SPANISH: Diferente, diferenciar, desigual
Families: Math
EXPLANATION
This symbol is based on an antonym, if this ‘’=’’ is equal, same then this ‘’≠ ‘’ is different, unequal. It’s the idea of crossing out the symbol with a diagonal line (forward slash) to mean the opposite.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Direct, direction, orientation, directly
SPANISH: Dirigir, dirección, orientación, directamente
Families: Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a bow and an arrow being pulled back, ready to be thrown.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Dizzy, lightheaded, dizziness
SPANISH: Mareado, aturdido, mareo
Families: Image abstractions, Medicine
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of the little spinning stars around somebody’s head.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Doctor
SPANISH: Doctor, doctora
Families: Medicine, Letters
EXPLANATION
Standard abbreviation for ‘’Doctor’’
MEANING
ENGLISH: Dose, dosage
SPANISH: Dosis
Families: Medicine, Letters
EXPLANATION
Abbreviation of the word ‘’Dose’’
MEANING
ENGLISH: Down, low, fall
SPANISH: Abajo, bajo, caer
Families: Arrow
EXPLANATION
The arrow goes down.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Drugs
SPANISH: Drogas
Families: Letters, Medicine, Legal
EXPLANATION
This is a visual cue + abbreviation. The ‘’d’’ from ‘’drugs’’ and I draw a little line on top to make it a special kind of ‘’d’’ so I never confuse it with anything else.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Dry
SPANISH: Seco, secar
Families: Image abstractions, Medicine
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a washing machine. You use it to dry your clothes.
MEANING
ENGLISH: During
SPANISH: Durante
Family: Plotting
EXPLANATION
The line moves from left to right (passing of time)
MEANING
ENGLISH: Easy, simple, straightforward, facilitate
SPANISH: Fácil, simple, sencillo, facilitar
Families: Arrows, Compound symbols
EXPLANATION
This is a combination of symbols.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Effect, effective
SPANISH: Efecto, efectivo
Families: Letters, Medicine
EXPLANATION
This is the combination of two letters ‘’F’’ and ‘’E’’ as in ‘’effect’’.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Egg, ovum
SPANISH: Huevo, óvulo
Families: Image abstractions, Foods
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a fried egg.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Eligible, eligibility
SPANISH: Elegible, elegibilidad
Families: Letters
EXPLANATION
This is a combination o the characters ‘’E’’ and ‘’J’’ (the letter ‘’G’’ sounds very similar to the letter ‘’J’’ in this case). You can also think about the ‘’J’’ hanging below the ‘’E’’ as a half ‘’G’’. Everything is in cursive to make it stand out and to draw it more easily.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Else
SPANISH: Otro
Families: Slashes, Letters
EXPLANATION
The ‘’E’’ and ‘’L’’ from ‘’else’’. The purpose of the slash is twofold: 1) to let me know there is an idea coming and 2) to differentiate the letters ‘’E’’ and ‘’L’’ to make them stand out as a unique type of ‘’E and L with a slash’’
MEANING
ENGLISH: Emotion, emotional, sensible, sensitivity, sentiment, feeling, feel
SPANISH: Emoción, emocional, sensible, sensibilidad, sentimiento, sentir
Families: Punctuation marks, Medicine
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of both a smiley and sad face. Emotions range from sad to happy.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Energy, electricity
SPANISH: Energía, electricidad
Families: Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is an abstraction of a lighting bolt.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Enough
SPANISH: Suficiente
Families: Letters
EXPLANATION
This is the ‘’E’’ of ‘’Enough’’. The cursive writing is to make it stand out and make sure this ‘’E’’ is used only for ‘’Enough’’
MEANING
ENGLISH: Enzyme
SPANISH: Enzima
Families: Letters, Medicine
EXPLANATION
This is an abbreviation + a visual cue.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Same, result, equal, identical, outcome
SPANISH: Igual, resultado, idéntico
Families: Math
EXPLANATION
Standard math symbol for ‘’equal to’’.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Even, event, episode
SPANISH: Incluso, suceso, evento, episodio
Families: Letters
EXPLANATION
This is an abbreviation (letter e) and a visual cue (the line above the letter e). You will know whether it’s ‘’even’’ or ‘’event’’ by the context.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Every, each
SPANISH: Cada
Family: Slashes, Letters
EXPLANATION
The ‘’e’’ from ‘’every’’. The purpose of the slash is twofold: 1) to let me know there is an idea coming and 2) to differentiate the letter ‘’e’’ to make it stand out as a unique type of ‘’e with a slash’’
MEANING
ENGLISH: Example
SPANISH: Ejemplo
Families: Letters, Slashes
EXPLANATION
The ‘’e’’ and ‘’x’’ from ‘’example’’. The purpose of the slash is twofold: 1) to let me know there is an idea coming and 2) to differentiate the letters ‘’e’’ and ‘’x’’ to make them stand out as a unique type of ‘’e and x with a slash’’
MEANING
ENGLISH: Exist, there is, there are, existent, to be
SPANISH: Existe, hay, existente ser
Families: Letters
EXPLANATION
This is the math symbol for ‘’there is’’.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Extreme, extra, excess, excessive
SPANISH: Extremo, extra, exceso, excesivo
Families: X family
EXPLANATION
This is the ‘’X’’ that all these words have in common ‘’extreme’’, ‘’extra’’, ‘’excess’’. I used a little arrow on the top right corner to make it stand out.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Eyes, cornea, iris, pupil, eyelid, eyelashes
SPANISH: Ojos, cornea, iris, pupila, párpado, pestañas
Family: Body parts
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of an eye.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Face, cheeks, facial
SPANISH: Cara, rostro, mejillas, facial
Families: Body parts
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a face.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Fact, factual, factor
SPANISH: Hecho, fáctico, factor
Families: Letters
EXPLANATION
This is an abbreviation (letter F and in ‘’Fact’’) and a visual cue (the horizontal line above the F).
MEANING
ENGLISH: Navel, belly button
SPANISH: Ombligo, umbilical
Families: Body parts, Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a belly button.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Family, relatives
SPANISH: Familia, parientes
Families: Family members, Lines
EXPLANATION
This is an abstraction that represents family bonds. This symbol looks like laces, like the bonds or ‘’threads’’ that unite families. This is also an arbitrary symbol.
MEANING
ENGLISH:
Fast, quick, swift, prompt, sudden, soon, speed, brief
SPANISH:
Rápido, veloz, velocidad, breve pronto, repentino
Families: Arrows, Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This a visual abstraction. Think about the buttons on a T.V. remote that you use to speed up or slow down the video/audio.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Fat, fatty
SPANISH: Gordo, grasa, grasoso
Families: Image abstractions, Medicine
EXPLANATION
Abstraction of a fat body. The little circle is the head, the bigger circle is the fat (belly).
MEANING
ENGLISH: Father, dad, daddy
SPANISH: Padre, papá, papi
Families: Punctuation marks, Family members
EXPLANATION
The two parentheses mean repetition. As a family member, you are part of the same, you are a copy of your grandparents or your parents, the bottom parenthesis is the offspring of the first parenthesis.
It also includes the symbol for man.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Father in law
SPANISH: Suegro
Families: Compound symbols, Family members
EXPLANATION
The two parentheses mean repetition. As a family member, you are part of the same, you are a copy of your grandparents or your parents, the bottom parenthesis is the offspring of the first parenthesis.
This is the symbol for man.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Fiber, fibrous
SPANISH: Fibra, fibroso
Families: Image abstractions, Foods
EXPLANATION
This is an abstraction. The little threads are like the threads of something fibrous.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Filter, filtration, leak, leakage
SPANISH: Filtrar, filtración, fuga
Families: Abstraction, Medicine
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a test tube with liquid inside and the liquid is leaking out of the test tube.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Nail, finger, fingertips
SPANISH: Uña, dedo, yema del dedo
Families: Body parts, Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a finger.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Care, focus, attention, careful
SPANISH: Cuidado, enfoque, atención, cuidadoso
Families: Punctuation marks
EXPLANATION
The exclamation mark generally means something you have to pay attention to.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Food, meal, fish, feed
SPANISH: Alimento, comida, pescado, dar de comer
Families: Foods, Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a ‘’fish’’. This fish is associated with bread, fish, and wine as a meal (eucharist, Christianity). The fish reminds me of the eucharist.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Foot, feet, toe, boot, shoe
SPANISH: Pierna, pie, dedo del pie, bota, zapato
Families: Body parts, Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a foot.
MEANING
ENGLISH: For
SPANISH: Para
Families: Slashes
EXPLANATION
The sound of ‘’for’’ as ‘’four’’ (4) and the forward slash. The forward slash will be a very important symbol of a series of symbols like by, b/, with, w/, without, w/o, etc. The forward slash generally means that there is something else more important coming (another idea or group of ideas)
MEANING
ENGLISH: Forget, forgetful
SPANISH: Olvidar, olvidadizo
Families: Letters, Medicine
EXPLANATION
This is the ‘’f’’ as in ‘’forget’’. It’s a special kind of ‘’f’’. My visual cues are the little curve at the bottom of the ‘’F’’ and/or the horizontal line on top of the ‘’F’’.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Formula
SPANISH: Fórmula
Family: Letters, Medicine, Compound symbols
EXPLANATION
This is a combination of symbols or an abbreviation + visual cue.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Fracture, function, fractured
SPANISH: Fractura, función, fracturado
Families: X family, Medicine, Letters
EXPLANATION
MEANING
ENGLISH: From, source, origin
SPANISH: De, de parte de, fuente, origen
Families: Arrows
EXPLANATION
MEANING
ENGLISH: Front, frontal
SPANISH: Frente, frontal
Families: Letters
EXPLANATION
This is the ‘’f’’ as in ‘’front’’. I add the vertical bar to differentiate it from any other kind of ‘’f’’ (the same logic we use with slashes).
MEANING
ENGLISH: Fruit, apple, orange, berry, pear
SPANISH: Fruta, manzana, naranja, baya, pera
Families: Image abstractions, Foods
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of an orange.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Hole, gap, ring, hollow
SPANISH: Hoyo, hueco, anillo, ahuecado
Families: Circles
EXPLANATION
The smaller circle inside the larger circle creates a gap in the middle. You can see this ‘’hollow’’ space in green.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Dirty, trash, garbage, waste, refuse, trash can
SPANISH: Sucio, basura, desperdicio, desecho, basurero
Families: Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a trash can.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Gas, air, wind
SPANISH: Gas, aire, viento
Families: Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of the fire coming out of a burner. Don’t confuse with the symbol for ‘’fire, warm’’. This symbol (gas) is more related to air than burning. Remember that fire needs oxygen to stay alight You can also see this symbol as the letter ‘’S’’ inside another ‘’S’’.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Give, donate, provide
SPANISH: Dar, donar, proveer, proporcionar
Families: Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a hand. The hand goes from left to right (from you to someone else). You are giving it out.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Go
SPANISH: Ir
Families: Arrows
EXPLANATION
This symbol is more like an auxiliary symbol. It’s used right next to other symbols, especially verbs and nouns.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Goal, objective, purpose
SPANISH: Meta, objetivo, propósito
Families: Circles, Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a dartboard. The ‘’bull’s eye’’. You want to hit the center (an exact place) with a dart. This abstraction works for two slightly different symbols.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Good, excellent, great, awesome, fantastic, wonderful
SPANISH: Bien, excelente, grandioso, genial, fantástico, maravilloso
Families: Basic shapes, Arrows
EXPLANATION
Standard checkmark symbol
MEANING
ENGLISH: Grandfather, granddad
SPANISH: Abuelo, abue
Families: Family members
EXPLANATION
The top line means that he’s from another generation or an older generation (elderly must be respected, they came first than their children or grandchildren)
The two parentheses mean repetition. As a family member, you are part of the same, you are a copy of your grandparents or your parents, the bottom parenthesis is the offspring of the first parenthesis.
This is the symbol for man, a grandfather is usually a man.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Grandmother, grandma, granny
SPANISH: Abuela, abue, abuelita
Families: Family members
EXPLANATION
The top line means that she is from another generation or a superior generation (elderly must be respected, they came first than their children or grandchildren).
The two parentheses mean repetition. As a family member, you are part of the same, you are a copy of your grandparents or your parents, the bottom parenthesis is the offspring of the first parenthesis.
This is the symbol for a woman, a grandmother is usually a woman.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Groin, crotch
SPANISH: Ingle, entrepierna
Families: Body parts, Letters, Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a groin.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Hair, wig, haircut
SPANISH: Cabello, pelo, vello, peluca
Families: Image abstractions, Body parts
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of hair strands.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Hand, finger, palm, touch, knuckle
SPANISH: Mano, dedo, palma, tocar, nudillo
Families: Image abstractions, Body parts
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a hand.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Handcuff, crime, corruption
SPANISH: Esposas, crimen, corrupción
Family: Legal, Image abstractions, Letters
EXPLANATION
This is an abstraction of real-world handcuffs. I keep the ‘’C’’ on both sides to remind me of the words ‘’crime’’, ‘’corruption’’, ‘’handcuff’’ (all with a C).
MEANING
ENGLISH: Hang, hanging
SPANISH: Colgar, colgando
Families: Image abstractions, Lines
EXPLANATION
The horizontal line is a surface, the curvy line below is attached to. Imagine it’s something hanging, like a thread moved by the wind.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Happy, joyful, please, glad, cheerful
SPANISH: Feliz, regocijado, encantado, alegre, contento
Families: Emotions
EXPLANATION
Typical smiley face
MEANING
ENGLISH: Have, to do, can, use
SPANISH: Tener, hacer, poder, usar
Families: Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is an abstraction of a hand. When you have something in your hand, you own it, possess it. The idea of something in your hands is always that of ‘’having’’. If you have it you are able to use it, to do something, you can.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Man, men, male, he, him, masculine, boy, sir, mister, guy
SPANISH: Hombre, masculino, él, niño, señor, tipo
Families: Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
Standard gender symbols.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Head, skull, cranium, brain, scalp
SPANISH: Cabeza, cráneo, cerebro, cuero cabelludo
Families: Body parts, Circles
EXPLANATION
The circle is the head. The line on top helps make this circle stand out as the symbol for the head. Your head is on top of your body. This line also helps differentiate the symbol for ‘’head’’ from the symbol for ‘’we’’.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Height, tall
SPANISH: Altura, alto
Families: Arrows, Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a measuring line used in blueprints.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Help, assist, assistance
SPANISH: Ayudar, asistir, asistencia
Families: Punctuation marks, Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is an abstraction of two helping hands.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Hemorrhoids, piles
SPANISH: Hemorroides, almorranas
Families: Letters, Medicine
EXPLANATION
This is an abbreviation + a visual cue. The little string next to the ‘’H’’ is supposed to be the swollen blood vessel (hemorrhoid) that protrudes outside of the ‘’H’’.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Today, here, now
SPANISH: Hoy, aquí, ahora
Family: Arrow, Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This arrow reflects a hand movement that I’ve seen people do when they say ‘’now’’.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Waist, hip
SPANISH: Cintura, cadera
Families: Body parts, Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a belly button.
MEANING
ENGLISH: History
SPANISH: Historial, antecedentes
Families: Letters, X family, M
EXPLANATION
Abbreviation.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Hit, collision, crash, fight, confrontation
SPANISH: Golpe, golpear, choque, fight, confrontación
Families: Punctuation marks, Lines
EXPLANATION
The two parentheses are facing each other, the horizontal line ‘’pushes’’ the parentheses until they ‘’crash’’ (hit each other).
MEANING
ENGLISH: Honest, true, sincere, genuine, authentic
SPANISH: Honesto, verdad, sincero, genuino, auténtico
Families: Compound symbols, Circles
EXPLANATION
This is an arbitrary symbol. There is no logic behind it. I use it because it reminds me of the symbol for head and good. If your ‘’head is in a good place, you are honest’’. That’s a weak association, but the symbol is easy to draw and remember.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Hope, hopeful, hopefully
SPANISH: Esperar, esperanza
Families: Emotions, Basic shapes
EXPLANATION
There are two options. You have to pick one and stick to it.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Hormone, hormonal
SPANISH: Hormona, hormonal
Families: Medical, Letters
EXPLANATION
This is an abbreviation.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Hospital, clinic
SPANISH: Hospital, clínica
Families: Medicine, Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is an abstraction of the ‘’red cross’’ symbol, but square (to differentiate from ‘’medicine’’).
MEANING
ENGLISH: Warm, hot, fire, burn, heat
SPANISH: Tibio, caliente, fuego, quemar, calor
Families: Image abstractions, Medicine, Lines
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of the fumes coming out of something hot or burning.
MEANING
ENGLISH: House, apartment, residence, dwelling, roof, home
SPANISH: Casa, apartamento, residencia, vivienda, techo
Families: Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is an abstraction from a sloped roof.
MEANING
ENGLISH: How
SPANISH: Cómo
Families: W questions, Letters
EXPLANATION
The ‘’H’’ and ‘’W’’ from ‘’How’’
MEANING
ENGLISH: How long
SPANISH: Desde cuándo, hace cuánto
Families: Letters, W questions
EXPLANATION
This is the abbreviation of ‘’how long’’.
MEANING
ENGLISH: How many, how much
SPANISH: Cuánto
Families: Letters, W questions
EXPLANATION
This is an abbreviation.
T
MEANING
ENGLISH: How often
SPANISH: Con qué frecuencia, cada cuánto, cuán frecuente, qué tan frecuente…
Families: Letters, W questions
EXPLANATION
This is the abbreviation of ‘’how often’’.
MEANING
ENGLISH: However
SPANISH: Sin embargo
Families: Letters, Connectors
EXPLANATION
The ‘’H’’ and ‘’E’’ from ‘’However’’ combined in one character. Notice how I ‘’inserted’’ the ‘’H’’ into the ‘’E’’ (line in blue) to draw faster instead of drawing ‘’H.E.’’
MEANING
ENGLISH: Husband, fiance
SPANISH: Esposo, prometido
Families: Family members
EXPLANATION
MEANING
ENGLISH: If
SPANISH: Si
Families: Letters, Connectors
EXPLANATION
I combine the ‘’I’’ and the ‘’F’’ from ‘’if’’ in one single character.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Ignore, disregard, ignorance
SPANISH: Ignorar, hacer caso omiso, ignorancia
Families: Compound symbols, X family, Circles
EXPLANATION
This is a combination of symbols. The circle with a line on top represents the head. The ‘’X’’ represents negation, something you don’t want (you don’t want to ‘’pay it any mind’’).
MEANING
ENGLISH: Implant, graft, prosthesis
SPANISH: Implante, injerto, prótesis
Families: Medicine
EXPLANATION
This is an abstraction.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Important, main, significant, relevant, critical
SPANISH: Importante, principal, significativo, relevante, crítico
Families: Math
EXPLANATION
When you draw an asterisk next to something, you try to make it stand out (it’s important). You can use the asterisk on its own to mean ‘’important’’
MEANING
ENGLISH: Improve, growth, develop, progress, development
SPANISH: Mejorar, crecimiento, desarrollar, progreso, desarrollo
Families: Arrows
EXPLANATION
This is like the checkmark symbol but a little different. There are peaks and falls at the beginning but then the line goes up. The arrow on top accentuates that it’s going up, hence improving.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Increase, accumulate
SPANISH: Incrementar, acumular
Families: Math, Arrows
EXPLANATION
This is a combination of symbols. We have the line going up, but instead of drawing an arrow at the end, we draw a ‘’plus’’ sign which means increase.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Explode, explosion, swell, inflammation, irritation, swelling
SPANISH: Explotar, explosión, hinchar, inflamación, irritación, hinchazón
Families: Image abstraction, Medicine
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of the sparks that come out of an exploding bomb.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Information, idea
SPANISH: Información, idea
Families: Letters, Circles
EXPLANATION
This is an abbreviation combined with a visual cue. The letter ‘’I’’ alone wouldn’t help you a lot to remember because it’s not memorable. Putting it inside a circle makes it a special kind of ‘’I’’. The ‘’I’’ for information, idea.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Injection, inject, injectable, shot, vaccine
SPANISH: Inyección, inyectar, inyectable, vacuna
Families: Medicine, Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
Abstraction from a real syringe.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Inside, interior, inner
SPANISH: Dentro, interior, interno
Families: Punctuation marks, Circles
EXPLANATION
This is an arbitrary symbol. It means that I just decided to use and stick to it. This symbol also works by putting any symbol inside of it (usually a noun) and it means inside. For example:
MEANING
ENGLISH: Instead
SPANISH: En vez de
Families: Letters, Connectors
EXPLANATION
This is the ‘’I’’ of ‘’Instead’’. The weird ‘’I’’ with a line on top is just to make it stand out. You have two options. Choose one and stick to it.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Insurance
SPANISH: Seguro
Families: Letters, Medicine
EXPLANATION
This is the combination of a symbol and an abbreviation (visual cue).
MEANING
ENGLISH: Interval, range
SPANISH: Intervalo, rango
Families: Punctuation marks, Math
EXPLANATION
When we write intervals in math, we use squared brackets, parenthesis, curled brackets, etc. I used the square bracket and a parenthesis to make it stand out and also to differentiate it from the symbol for ‘’inside’’.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Join, meet, union, gather, connection, bond, include, unite, mix, link, connect
SPANISH: Unir, reunir, unión, conexión, incluir, mezclar, vínculo, vínculo, conectar
Families: Image abstractions, Punctuation marks
EXPLANATION
This is an abstraction from a Venn diagram. The ‘’intersection’’ between two circles is the ‘’match’’, ‘’union’’ and the circles are ‘’joined’’.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Happy, fun, joyful, funny, hilarious, laugh
SPANISH: Feliz, divertido, jovial, gracioso, hilarante, reirse, risa
Families: Emotions
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a happy face with the mouth open, laughing.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Juice, juicy
SPANISH: Jugo, jugoso
Families: Letters, Compound symbols, Foods
EXPLANATION
This is a combination of two symbols or an abbreviation + a visual cue. Think of the accent mark on top of the ‘’J’’ as a straw.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Jump, leap, hop up
SPANISH: Saltar, brincar
Families: Math, Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of the trajectory an object follows when you throw it up in the air (according to physics, free-fall motion). I draw it vertically to not confuse it with the symbol ‘’amount’’.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Justify, justification
SPANISH: Justificar, justificación
Families: Letters
EXPLANATION
This is an abbreviation and a visual cue. The ‘’j’’ as in ‘’justify’’. The accent mark is the visual cue.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Save, keep, maintain
SPANISH: Guardar, mantener
Families: Basic shapes
EXPLANATION
This is an arbitrary symbol, I just use it because it’s unique. You can also think of it as an anagram of the letter ‘’K’’ as in ‘’keep’’ or as if the triangle were restraining the little vertical line within its space.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Kidney, liver, pancreas
SPANISH: Riñón, hígado, páncreas
Families: Body parts, Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This symbol is the abstraction of a pancreas. Also, it only works when you use superscripts and subscripts because it could mean 3 different things: pancreas, kidney, or liver.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Knot, tangle, to tie
SPANISH: Nudo, enredar, amarrar, anudar, hacer un nudo
Families: Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a thread loop.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Know, knowledge, understand, comprehend, think
SPANISH: Saber, conocimiento, entender, comprender, pensar
Families: Letters
EXPLANATION
This is a little head with the ‘’O’’ as in ‘’Know’’. The line of the ‘’O’’ projects further to the right to make it stand out.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Label, labeled, sticker, peel
SPANISH: Etiqueta, etiquetado, pegatina, despegar, pelar
Families: Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of something that can be peeled off or a small tag.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Court, legal, law
SPANISH: Tribunal, legal, leyes, derecho
Families: Legal, Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
Abstraction of the scales of justice.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Lawyer, counsel
SPANISH: Abogado
Families: Compound symbols, legal
EXPLANATION
Combining two symbols: law + people = people of law (lawyer)
MEANING
ENGLISH: Left
SPANISH: Izquierda
Families: Arrows
EXPLANATION
Arrow pointing to the left. But this is not the regular arrow for past or before. It has to be a special arrow that’s different to the others.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Leg, knee, thigh
SPANISH: Pierna, rodilla, muslo
Families: Body parts, Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a pair of legs.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Less than
SPANISH: Less than
Families: Math, Arrows
EXPLANATION:
Math symbol. This symbol is usually used in between symbols, especially after verbs. For example:
MEANING
ENGLISH: Level
SPANISH: Nivel
Families: Lines, Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
The horizontal lines on top and at the bottom are in two different levels (heights). Also, if you remove the line on top you have an ‘’L’’ for ‘’Level’’. This is also an abstraction of a measuring line used in architecture blueprints.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Lie down
SPANISH: Acostarse, acostar
Families: Punctuation marks
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a bed but it’s not complete, it only includes the part where you lie down.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Light, bright, shiny
SPANISH: Luz, luminoso, brillante
Families: Lines, Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
The three tilted lines are the abstraction of rays of light.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Want, desire, love, like, enjoy, heart, cardiac
SPANISH: Querer, desear, amar, disfrutar, gustar, corazón, cardíaco
Families: Basic shapes, Medicine, Emotions
EXPLANATION
When you ‘’heart’’ something, you like it.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Limit, limitation
SPANISH: Limitar, límite, limitación
Families: Letters
EXPLANATION
This is the ‘’L’’ of ‘’Limit’’. The cursive writing is to make it a special kind of ‘’L’’ (only used for ‘’limit’’) and to make it stand out. I do this with several letters. The cursive letter could be capital or lowercase.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Water, liquid, oil, fluid, urine, blood, droplet, drop
SPANISH: Agua, líquido, aceite, fluido, orina, saliva, gota
Families: Image abstractions, Medicine
EXPLANATION
Abstraction of a droplet.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Hear, ear, listen
SPANISH: Oir, oreja, oído, escuchar
Families: Body parts, Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of an ear.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Lung, breathe, respiratory, pulmonary
SPANISH: Pulmón, respirar, respiratorio, pulmonary
Families: Image abstractions, Body parts, Medicine
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a lung.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Material, matter
SPANISH: Material, materia, asunto
Families: Circles, Letters
EXPLANATION
This is the ‘’M’’ as in ‘’material’’. The circle is to make the symbol different enough so it jumpstarts your memory.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Maybe, perhaps, maybe, chance, possibility, likely
SPANISH: Quizás, puede que, probabilidad, posibilidad, probable
Families: Letters
EXPLANATION
This is an abstraction of a symbol. Abstracting is one of the hardest skills to master, but train your eye to see abstractions. This is a deconstructed ‘’P’’ from ‘’Possibility’’, then we have all the possible synonyms or at least related words. Why do we deconstruct the ‘’P’’? Because we want our symbol to stand out, bizarre things help you remember more.
MEANING
ENGLISH: My, mine
SPANISH: Mi, mio
Families: Letters
EXPLANATION
This symbol combines the cursive ‘’M’’ and the cursive ‘’E’’ and mixes them into a single character.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Meantime
SPANISH: Mientras tanto
Families: Plotting, Letters
EXPLANATION
Notice how instead of drawing ‘’MT’’ I only drew the 00M00 and used the very last vertical line of the M to add the T, just by drawing a horizontal line.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Meanwhile
SPANISH: Mientras tanto
Families: Letters, Plotting
EXPLANATION
This is an abbreviation + a visual cue. The ‘’m’’ for ‘’mean’’ ‘’w’’ for ‘’while’’ that projects a horizontal line.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Measure, meter, measurement, distance
SPANISH: Medir, medidor, medida, distance
Families: Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a ruler. You use a ruler to measure distance.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Medicine, medication, medical, healthy, health
SPANISH: Medicina, medicamento, médico, sano, saludable, salud
Families: Circles, Medicine, Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is an abstraction of the ‘’red cross’’ symbol, but it is round because round shapes are easier to draw. Also, to not confuse the ‘’plus sign inside a square’’ that usually means ''hospital''.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Message, send, mail
SPANISH: Mensaje, enviar, correo
Families: Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a mail envelope. Notice how I didn’t draw some of the lines to save strokes (red). Your brain ‘’completes the image’’ (Gestalt) without needing to draw the rest.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Center, middle, intermediate, central, mid
SPANISH: Centro, medio, intermedio, central, medio
Families: Lines
EXPLANATION
This is a visual abstraction. The little dot is in the middle of the two lines, which is also the center.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Miles, mileage, dashboard
SPANISH: Millas, millaje, tablero
Families: Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of the dashboard of a car.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Milk
SPANISH: Leche
Families: Foods, Letters, Compound symbols
EXPLANATION
This is a combination of symbols or an abbreviation + visual cues.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Less, minus, negative
SPANISH: Menos, negativo
Families: Lines, Math
EXPLANATION
Standard minus symbol.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Miss, skip, lost, lose
SPANISH: Pedir, perdido, faltar
Families: Lines
EXPLANATION
This is a vertical line with something missing in the middle (the continuity of the line is broke up by a dot). The line missed that particular spot.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Moderate, moderation
SPANISH: Moderar, moderado
Families: Basic shapes, Medicine
EXPLANATION
This is an arbitrary symbol. I started to use it and it stuck with me. I like to think that horizontal line crossing the triangle is in the middle because it’s moderately elevated, not to high, not too low.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Month, monthly
SPANISH: Mes, mensualmente
Families: Letters
EXPLANATION
Abbreviation from the word ‘’Month’’.
MEANING
ENGLISH: More, add, mostly, plus, sum, positive
SPANISH: Más, mayormente, sumar, añadir, positivo
Families: Math
EXPLANATION
Standard plus symbol.
MEANING
ENGLISH: More than
SPANISH: Más que
Families: Math, Arrows
EXPLANATION
Math symbol. This symbol is usually placed between two symbols, especially after verbs. For example:
MEANING
ENGLISH: Mother, mom, mommy
SPANISH: Madre, mama, mami
Families: Family members
EXPLANATION
The two parentheses mean repetition. As a family member, you are part of the same, you are a copy of your grandparents or your parents, the bottom parenthesis is the offspring of the first parenthesis.
The two parentheses mean repetition. As a family member, you are part of the same, you are a copy of your grandparents or your parents, the bottom parenthesis is the offspring of the first parenthesis.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Mother in law
SPANISH: Suegra
Families: Compound symbols, Family members
EXPLANATION
The two parentheses mean repetition. As a family member, you are part of the same, you are a copy of your grandparents or your parents, the bottom parenthesis is the offspring of the first parenthesis.
This is the symbol for woman, a mother is usually a woman.
Combination of symbols
MEANING
ENGLISH: Eat, mouth, ingest, lips
SPANISH: Comer, boca, ingerir, labios
Families: Body parts, Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a mouth (lips).
MEANING
ENGLISH: Move, movement, flow, circulation, motion, twist
SPANISH: Mover, movimiento, flujo, circulación, doblar
Families: Lines, Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is an abstraction of what you do when you pour a liquid from one cup to another to mix it well.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Music, wheezing, wheeze
SPANISH: Música, silbido, silbar
Families: Image abstractions, Medical
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a musical note. It was inverted to the right for easy of drawing.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Name
SPANISH: Nombre, nombrar
Families: Letters, Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is a visual cue combined with an abbreviation. It’s a bizarre N for name. The little circle could even represent the head of somebody, hence the name (of a person).
MEANING
ENGLISH: Tight, narrow, narrowing, constriction, pressure
SPANISH: Apretado, estrecho, estrechamiento, compresión, presión
Families: Punctuation marks
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of two lines squeezing against each other. There are two ways of drawing this symbol. One of them is usually in the adjective or noun form and the other is in the verb form.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Natural, tree, park, herbs, forest, plant, plant, grass, salad, vegetables
SPANISH: Natural, árbol, parque, hierbas, bosque, planta, césped, ensalada, vegetales
Families: Image abstractions, Foods
EXPLANATION
This is an abstraction of a tree. Trees are the basic icon of nature.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Nausea
SPANISH: Náuseas
Families: Medicine, Letters, Slashes
EXPLANATION
Abbreviation. The slash works as a visual cue.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Nausea and vomit
SPANISH: Nausea and vomit
Families: Letters, Slashes, Medicine
EXPLANATION
This is an abbreviation.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Neck, nape
SPANISH: Cuello, nuca
Families: Compound symbols, Body parts, Circles
EXPLANATION
The circle is the head. The line on top helps make this circle stand out as the head. Your head is on top of your body. This line also helps differentiate the symbol for ‘’head’’ from the symbol for ‘’we’’.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Need
SPANISH: Necesitar
Families: Letters
EXPLANATION
This is the ‘’N’’ from ‘’Need’’. Be careful with the N for ‘’No’’. Most of the time you will figure it out by context.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Nephew
SPANISH: Sobrino
Families: Family members
EXPLANATION
This is another way of representing females and males. I add the repetition of the letters because a family is ‘’a repetition of genes’’, reproduction (produce again, repeat).
I use the angle brackets because your nephew is like your second son, the child of your sibling. I use the cursive ‘’O’’ because it’s shorter than the two ‘’O’’ as in brother. In this case, this ‘’O’’ only indicates the gender of your nephew and differentiates it from the symbol for ‘’son’’.
MEANING
ENGLISH: New, novelty, renew
SPANISH: Nuevo, novedad, renovar
Families: Punctuation marks, Letters
EXPLANATION
Abstraction and visual cue with a deconstructed letter. Do you remember ‘’possible’’? It uses the same concept of breaking up a letter to make it stand out.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Niece
SPANISH: Sobrina
Families: Family members
EXPLANATION
This is another way of representing females and males. I add the repetition of the letters because a family is ‘’a repetition of genes’’, reproduction (produce again, repeat).
I use the angle brackets because your niece is like your second daughter, the child of your sibling. I use the ‘’double q’’’ because it specifies the gender (female) and also differentiates it from the symbol for ‘’daughter’’.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Night
SPANISH: Noche
Families: Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
Moon abstraction.
MEANING
ENGLISH: No
SPANISH: No
Families: Letters
EXPLANATION
Abbreviation. It’s mandatory to add the period after the N because without it, ‘’N’’ can mean ‘’need’’.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Normal, standard, average, common, usual, typical, general
SPANISH: Normal, estándar, promedio, común, usual, típico, general
Families: Math, X family
EXPLANATION
This is the math symbol for ‘’average’’. This is called ‘’x-bar’’.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Nose, nostril, smell, nasal
SPANISH: Nariz, orificio nasal, olor, oler, nasal
Families: Body parts, Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a nose.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Number, digit, code, figure
SPANISH: Número, dígito, código, cifra
Families: Math
EXPLANATION
Standard number pad symbol. I dropped one of the horizontal lines to draw faster, but I always make sure the vertical lines are inclining.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Nurse
SPANISH: Enfermero
Families: Compound symbols, Medicine, Image abstraction
EXPLANATION
Combination of symbols.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Object, thing, stuff, area, environment
SPANISH:Objeto, cosa, área, ambiente
Families: Basic shapes
EXPLANATION
The square is the most basic shape of all. A basic idea is that of ‘’object’’. An object can be pretty much anything and so is a square.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Obstacle, block, blocked, obstruction, obstruct, occluded
SPANISH: Obstáculo, bloquear, bloqueado, obstrucción, obstruir, ocluido
Families: Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a traffic cone that blocks the way.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Off
SPANISH: Desactivar, desactivado, apagado
Families: Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is an arbitrary symbol. I use it because it’s quick and I can remember. It’s also an abstraction of a switcher. When the switch is up, it’s on, when the switch is down, it’s off.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Frequent, often, frequency, frequently
SPANISH: Frecuente, seguido, a menudo, frecuencia, con frecuencia
Families: Lines
EXPLANATION
This symbol derives from the symbol of ‘’repetition’’. If you have two lines, it means repetition, if you have three lines it is frequent (even more than mere repetition).
MEANING
ENGLISH: On, active, activate, activity
SPANISH: Activo, prendido, activar, actividad
Families: Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is an arbitrary symbol. I use it because it’s quick and I can remember. It’s also an abstraction of a switcher. When the switch is up, it’s on, when the switch is down, it’s off.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Open, entrance
SPANISH: Abrir, entrada
Families: Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is a door. The door handle has the shape of an ‘’O’’ from ‘’Open’’.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Opposite, contrary, to oppose, against, counterpart
SPANISH: Opuesto, contrario, oponerse, en contra
Families: Lines
EXPLANATION
This is an arbitrary symbol. The vertical lines are facing each other, like against each other.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Option, alternative, opportunity
SPANISH: Opción, alternativa, oportunidad
Families: Lines
EXPLANATION
This is an arbitrary symbol. The horizontal line branches in two lines, so you have an option to follow one or the other line.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Or
SPANISH: O
Families: Letters
EXPLANATION
Mixing the ‘’O’’ and the ‘’R’’ of ‘’Or’’ in one character. This symbol can be drawn without lifting your pen from the paper and it’s very peculiar. Unusual shapes, letters, and symbols help us remember more quickly.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Organ, organism
SPANISH: Órgano, organismo
Families: Compound symbols, Medicine, Body parts
EXPLANATION
This is the combination of two symbols: ‘’part’’ and ‘’person/body’’. An organ is part of your body.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Outside, out, leave, remove
SPANISH: Fuera, salir, quitar
Families: Circles, Arrows
EXPLANATION
The line is moving from left to right, moving away from the circle, leaving the circle, eventually, outside of the circle
MEANING
ENGLISH: Uterus, ovaries, womb
SPANISH: Útero, ovarios, matriz
Families: Medicine, Body parts, Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is an abstraction of the female reproductive system.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Own, ownership, possession
SPANISH: Adueñarse, posesión
Families: Letters
EXPLANATION
This symbol applies the concept of ‘’visual cue’’ + ‘’abbreviation’’. It means that we use a letter with a strange design to make it stand out and help us remember. This is the cursive ‘’O’’ for ''owner'' with a little tweak.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Paper, sheet, letter, form
SPANISH: Papel, hoja, cara, formulario
Families: Image abstractions, Lines
EXPLANATION
MEANING
ENGLISH: Partial, partially, period, part
SPANISH: Parcial, parcialmente, periodo, parte
Families: Letters
EXPLANATION
This is a visual abstraction. Imagine it as an incomplete circle. Also, a phase or period is part of an overall process or age. For example, there are 3 phases in one process (they are PART of that process). The same goes for the word ''period,'' we have the Modern Age, the Middle Ages, the 90s, Prehistoric Ages, etc. but all of them are PART of a general timeline.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Patient, patience, disability, disabled, handicap, handicapped
SPANISH: Paciente, paciencia, discapacidad, discapacitado
Family: Medicine, Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
Abstraction of the patient in a wheelchair.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Peace, peaceful, calm, quiet
SPANISH: Paz, pacífico, calmado, tranquilo
Family: Circles
EXPLANATION
Standard symbol for peace.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Penis, testicles, testes, glans
SPANISH: Pene, testículos, glande
Family: Body parts, Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
Image abstraction of a penis
MEANING
ENGLISH: People, person, individual, someone, somebody
SPANISH: Persona, gente, individuo, alguien
Families: Plotting, Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is the symbol for ‘’people’’, ‘’human’’ in Kanji.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Percentage, percentile, proportion, percent, rate
SPANISH: Porcentaje, percentil, proporción, porciento, tasa
Families: Math
EXPLANATION
The standard symbol for ‘’percent’’.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Pharmacy
SPANISH: Farmacia
Families: Medicine, Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is an abstraction of the ‘’red cross’’ symbol but drawn with an arch above (to differentiate from ‘’medicine’’).
MEANING
ENGLISH: Phone, call, cellphone
SPANISH: Teléfono, llamar, celular
Families: Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is an abstraction from a telephone chord.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Photo, camera, video, picture, painting, image
SPANISH: Foto, cámara, video, imagen, pintura
Families: Image abstractions, Basic shapes
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a camera. This symbol takes some time to draw. I usually don’t draw it completely but it still makes me remember.
MEANING
ENGLISH:
Pill, tablet, capsule, lozenge
SPANISH:
Pastilla, tableta, cápsula, comprimido
Family: Image abstractions, Medical
EXPLANATION
Abstraction of the image of a pill
MEANING
ENGLISH: Order, plan, organization, organize, coordinate
SPANISH: Orden, ordenar, plan, organización, organizar, coordinar
Families: Lines
EXPLANATION
This is an arbitrary symbol. I chose it because it works for me. The three lines coming from the left ‘’vertex’’ of the symbol represent the idea of delegating tasks, hence, organizing, planning.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Please
SPANISH: Por favor
Families: Letters
EXPLANATION
ENGLISH: The cursive ‘’P’’ from ‘’Please’’. Cursive writing is good to make symbols stand out.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Police, cops
SPANISH: Policía
Families: Legal, Basic shapes, Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
Abstraction of a ‘’sheriff star’’
MEANING
ENGLISH: Potato
SPANISH: Papa
Families: Foods
EXPLANATION
This is an abbreviation + visual cue. The abbreviation is the ‘’P’’ on top of the oval which is the abstraction of a potato.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Practice, train, exercise
SPANISH: Practice, entrenar, ejercicio
Families: Circles, Image abstractions, Medicine
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a dumbbell you use to exercise. And exercising is all about practice (repetition).
MEANING
ENGLISH: Pregnancy, pregnant
SPANISH: Embarazo, embarazada
Families: Image abstractions, Medicine
EXPLANATION
This is an abstraction.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Prescription, prescribe, refill
SPANISH: Receta, recetar, surtir
Families: Medicine, X family, Letters
EXPLANATION
MEANING
ENGLISH: Difficult, complicated, problem, problematic, issue
SPANISH: Difícil, complicado, problema, problemático
Families: Arrows
EXPLANATION
This is an arbitrary symbol and an abstraction. We have two symbols facing each other (confrontation), sharp, pointy edges (visual tension) and tension always leads to problems.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Process, procedure
SPANISH:Proceso, procedimiento
Families: Arrows, Medicine
EXPLANATION
This is an arbitrary symbol. This symbol has a starting point, curved lines in between representing the process, and an endpoint.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Prognosis
SPANISH: Pronóstico
Families: X family, Medicine, Letters
EXPLANATION
MEANING
ENGLISH: Pull, pluck
SPANISH: Halar, arrancar
Families: Arrows, Punctuation marks
EXPLANATION
The angle bracket is pulling the parenthesis towards the right.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Push, press, pump
SPANISH: Presionar, empujar, bombear
Families: Arrows, Punctuation marks
EXPLANATION
The angle bracket is pushing the parenthesis.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Qualify, qualification, quality
SPANISH: Calificar, calificación, cualidad
Families: Letters
EXPLANATION
This is the ‘’q’’ as in ‘’quality’’. I make the vertical line a little longer than usual in both sides to make it stand out (visual cue), so it’s not a regular ‘’q’’
MEANING
ENGLISH: Rain, snow, storm
SPANISH: Llover, lluvia, nieve, nevar, tormenta
Families: Lines, Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of rain falling.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Get, receive, obtain
SPANISH: Recibir, obtener
Families: Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a hand. The hand goes from right to left (from someone else to you). You are receiving something.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Recommend, suggest, encourage, advise
SPANISH: Recomendar, sugerir, animar, aconsejar
Families: Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a ‘’thumbs up’’.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Red blood cell
SPANISH: Glóbulos rojos
Families: Letters, Medicine
EXPLANATION
Standard abbreviation
MEANING
ENGLISH: Deduct, deduction, derive, derivation, deduce, reduce, lower, decrease, lessen, lower
SPANISH: Descontar, deducción, derivar, derivación, deducir, reducir, bajar
Families: Math, Lines, Letters
EXPLANATION
This is the combination of the letter ‘’d’’ and the letter ‘’e’’. I created a new character. You can use both symbols or just one of them.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Rehab
SPANISH: Rehabilitación
Families: Medicine, Letters
EXPLANATION
Abbreviation
MEANING
ENGLISH: Remember, recall
SPANISH: Recordar
Families: Medicine, Letters
EXPLANATION
This is the abbreviation of the word ‘’Remember’’
MEANING
ENGLISH: Remote, remotely
SPANISH: Remoto, remotamente
Families: Letters
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a wave (like wifi or water) and the ‘’R’’ for ‘’remote’’.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Repeat, repetition, again, duplicate
SPANISH: Repetir, repetición, otra vez, duplicar
Families: Lines
EXPLANATION
You draw one line and then another line. You repeated your drawing. If you have three lines it is frequent (even more than mere repetition).
MEANING
ENGLISH: Claim, complaint, complain, report
SPANISH: Reclamo, queja, quejarse, reporte, informe
Families: Circles, Punctuation marks
EXPLANATION
The exclamation mark is used to emphasize a word or phrase; when you complain about something you want somebody to pay attention to you. I added the circle around it to make it stand out and differentiate it from the exclamation mark. You can also see the circle as the ‘’O’’ in ‘’complain’’.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Investigate, research, find, investigation
SPANISH: Investigar, buscar, investigación
Families: Circles, Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a magnifying glass. I added the dot in the center to not confuse it with the symbol for ‘’woman’’ or any other symbol.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Resource, to resort, resourceful
SPANISH: Recurso, recurrir a, ingenioso
Families: Letters
EXPLANATION
This is the abbreviation of ‘’resource’’.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Responsibility, responsible
SPANISH: Responsabilidad, responsable
Families: Letters
EXPLANATION
This is the ‘’R’’ for abstraction. I add a little circle on top to differentiate this ‘’R’’ from any other ‘’R’’.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Restaurant, cafeteria, bar, cafe
SPANISH: Restaurante, cafetería, bar
Families: Food, Image abstraction, Medicine
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a wine glass.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Return, revert, go back, come back
SPANISH: Devolver, invertir, regresar
Families: Arrow
EXPLANATION
The line is drawn from bottom to top. You are moving your pen forwards and then back (circular motion). The arrow accentuates the direction of the line.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Ribs, ribcage
SPANISH: Costillas, caja torácica
Families: Body parts, Medicine, Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a set of ribs.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Risk, danger, dangerous, risky
SPANISH: Riesgo, peligro, peligroso, riesgoso
Families: Punctuation marks, Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is an abstraction of the ‘’danger’’ sign.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Rule out
SPANISH: Descartar
Families: Medicine, Compound symbols, Image abstractions, Arrows
EXPLANATION
This is the combination of two symbols.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Sad, depressed, depression, sadness, pain, hurt, sick, disease, sickness, suffer, bad, poor
SPANISH: Triste, deprimido, depresión, tristeza, dolor, doler, enfermo, enfermedad, sufrir, malo
Families: Emotions, Medicine
EXPLANATION
Typical sad face. Notice how this is a very wide umbrella of meaning that goes from sad, to sickness, and suffering. But all the words are closely related.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Salt, salty
SPANISH: Sal, salado
Families: Foods, Letters
EXPLANATION
Abbreviation + visual cue. The phonetic spelling of the word ‘’salt’’ is ‘’ˈsɔlt’’ (with an ‘’o’’).
MEANING
ENGLISH: Scratch, itchy, itch, scrape, rash
SPANISH: Rascar, picazón, picar, raspar, sarpullido
Families: Image abstractions, Medicine
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a cat paw scratching something.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Scream, yell, shout
SPANISH: Gritar, vocear
Families: Emotions
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a face with the eyes closed very tightly and the mouth open (yelling).
MEANING
ENGLISH: See, watch, view, outlook, perspective, notice, observe
SPANISH: Ver, mirar, perspectiva, notar, observar, fijarse
Families: Circles, Medicine, Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is an eye and a pupil. However, it only means the verb ‘’see’’, ‘’watch’’, for the anatomical eye we use a different symbol.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Serious, severe
SPANISH: Serio, grave
Families: Lines, Image abstractions, Emotions
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a straight, serious face.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Session
SPANISH: Sesión
Families: Letters
EXPLANATION
This is the ‘’S’’ for ‘’session’’. I use the little line on top to make it stand out so I can remember.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Sex, intercourse, coitus
SPANISH: Sexo, relaciones sexuales, coito
Families: Medicine, Circles
EXPLANATION
I will let you think about this one.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Trade, exchange, deal, share
SPANISH: Intercambiar, intercambio, trato, compartir
Families: Image abstractions, Compound symbols
EXPLANATION
This is a combination of symbols.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Woman, women, female, she, girl, miss, lady, feminine
SPANISH: Mujer, mujeres, femenino, ella, niña, señora, señorita
Families: Image abstractions, Medicine
EXPLANATION
MEANING
ENGLISH: Should, obligation, mandatory, must
SPANISH: Debería, debe, obligación, obligatorio, tiene que
Families: Letters, Punctuation marks, Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
The ‘’S’’ and ‘’H’’ for ‘’Should’’. The other option is an abstraction of a paper plus the exclamation mark (an obligation).
MEANING
ENGLISH: Siblings
SPANISH: Hermanos (y hermanas)
Families: Letters, Family members
EXPLANATION
This is another way of representing females and males. I add the repetition of the letters because a family is ‘’a repetition of genes’’, reproduction (produce again, repeat).
MEANING
ENGLISH: Side
SPANISH: Lado
Families: Letters
EXPLANATION
This is the ‘’s’’ as in ‘’side’’. I add the vertical bar to differentiate it from any other kind of ‘’s’’ (the same logic we use with slashes).
MEANING
ENGLISH: Sign, signature
SPANISH: Signo, firma, firma
Families: Letters
EXPLANATION
This is an ‘’S’’ with a special tweak to make it stand out.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Like, similar, about, approximately
SPANISH: Como, similar, aproximadamente
Families: Math
EXPLANATION
The wobbly lines represent some insecurity. Some it’s something like something else, but not quite (not for sure). This symbol is often used for comparisons.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Surface, superficial
SPANISH: Superficie, superficial
Families: Letters
EXPLANATION
This is the ‘’S’’ as in ‘’surface’’ accompanied by a flat line (which is the surface itself). This is what we call a visual cue. It’s like creating a new letter based on a letter of the alphabet.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Sister in law
SPANISH: Cuñada
Families: Compound symbols, Family members
EXPLANATION
This is another way of representing females and males. I add the repetition of the letters because a family is ‘’a repetition of genes’’, reproduction (produce again, repeat).
A combination of symbols.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Skin, flesh, meat, leather, tissue
SPANISH: Piel, cuero, carne, tejido
Families: Image abstractions, Body parts, medicine
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a cut of meat.
MEANING
ENGLISH:
Slow, delay, behind
SPANISH:
Lento, retraso, retrasado
Families: Arrows, Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This a visual abstraction. Think about the buttons on a T.V. remote that you use to speed up or slow down the video/audio. This is also the ‘’visual’’ opposite of the ‘’fast’’ symbol, so the two of them work as a pair of antonyms.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Small, tiny, little, few, some
SPANISH: Pequeño, diminuto, poco, algunos
Families: Punctuation marks, Lines
EXPLANATION
This is an abstraction. The horizontal line is very small in comparison to the previous line. These two symbols work as antonyms
MEANING
ENGLISH: Smoke, cigarette, cigar
SPANISH: Fumar, cigarrillo, cigarro
Families: Image abstraction, Medicine
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a cigarette and its smoke.
MEANING
ENGLISH: So, then, therefore
SPANISH: Entonces, por consiguiente, así que
Families: Math, Connectors
EXPLANATION
These three dots mean ‘’therefore’’ in math. It’s a logical symbol.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Bland, soft, smooth, flexible, elastic
SPANISH: Suave, blando, flexible, elástico
Families: Lines
EXPLANATION
The drawing of this line is very smooth. Continuous strokes, no harsh corners. In a way, this is an arbitrary symbol.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Solid, solidify
SPANISH: Sólido, solidificar
Families: Food, Medicine, Letters
EXPLANATION
Abbreviation + visual cue.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Solution, solve, fix, tool
SPANISH: Solución, solucionar, arreglar, herramienta
Families: Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a tool. You use tools to solve or fix problems.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Someone
SPANISH: Alguien
Families: Slashes, Letters
EXPLANATION
The ‘’s’’ and ‘’o’’ from ‘’someone’’. The purpose of the slash is twofold: 1) to let me know there is an idea coming and 2) to differentiate the letters ‘’s’ and ‘’o’’ to make them stand out as a unique type of ‘’s and o with a slash’’
MEANING
ENGLISH: Something
SPANISH: Algo
Families: Letters, Compound symbols
EXPLANATION
This is an abbreviation of the word ‘’something’’. The incomplete square around it is the same square we use for ‘’thing’’, ‘’object’’. We use this ‘’incomplete square’’ because we want to differentiate it from the ‘’ST’’ of ‘’sometimes’’.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Sometimes
SPANISH: A veces
Families: Circles, Letters, Compound symbols
EXPLANATION
This is an abbreviation of the word ‘’sometimes’’. The circle drawn around it is the same circle we use for ‘’time’’. We draw this circle because we want to differentiate it from the ‘’ST’’ of ‘’sometimes’’.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Somewhere
SPANISH: En algún lugar
Families: Slashes, Letters
EXPLANATION
This is a slash symbol. ‘’S’’ and ‘’W’’ from ‘’somewhere’’. Remember that I use the slash to make this symbol stand out, instead of a simple SW.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Son
SPANISH: Hijo
Families: Family members
EXPLANATION
The two angled brackets mean repetition. As a family member, you are part of the same, you are a copy of your grandparents or your parents, the bottom angle bracket is the offspring of the first angle bracket. I use an angle bracket to differentiate it from the parentheses I use for parents and grandparents.
This is the symbol for man.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Sorry
SPANISH: Perdón, disculpe, lo lamento, lo siento
Families: Letters
EXPLANATION
This is the abbreviation of the word ‘’sorry’’.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Sound, noise, wave
SPANISH: Sonido, ruido, onda
Family: Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a sound wave.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Talk, say, speak, chat, conversation, tell
SPANISH: Hablar, decir, conversación, conversar
Families: Punctuation marks
EXPLANATION
These are the quotation marks that you use to repeat what somebody else has said.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Spoon, scoop, tablespoon
SPANISH: Cuchara, cucharada
Families: Foods, Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a spoon. I add the horizontal line so I don’t confuse this symbol with the one for ‘’woman’’.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Spray, sprinkle, spritz, sprinkle
SPANISH: Espray, atomizador, rocear
Families: Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a spray bottle. The little, short lines you see are supposed to be the water spreading out.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Step, stairs
SPANISH: Escalón, escalera
Families: Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is an abstraction of real stairs.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Start, begin, initiate, initial, beginning
SPANISH: Comenzar, empezar, iniciar, inicial, comienzo
Families: Arrows, Lines
EXPLANATION
The line goes starts left to right. The vertical line to the left marks the ‘’departure point’’
MEANING
ENGLISH: Glue, sticky, stick, mucus, slime, slippery, slip
SPANISH: Pegamento, pegajoso, pegar, moco, baba, resbaloso, resbalar
Families: Image abstractions, Medicine
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of something slimy dripping from a surface.
MEANING
ENGLISH: End, finish, final, terminate, stop
SPANISH: Final, terminar, finalizar, parar
Families: Arrows, Lines
EXPLANATION
The line goes from left to right until a vertical line stops it. That’s why it’s not moving further. You can add abbreviations to make it mean different things:
MEANING
ENGLISH: Street, road
SPANISH: Calle, carretera
Families: Image abstractions, Letters
MEANING
ENGLISH: Stress, stressful
SPANISH: Estrés, estresante
Families: Emotions, medicine
EXPLANATION
Combination of symbols.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Hard, strong, strength, rigid, tense
SPANISH: Duro, fuerte, fuerza, rígido, tenso
Families: Medicine, Compound symbols, Lines
EXPLANATION
This symbol derives from another symbol. The ‘’stable’’ symbol. If you have ‘’two stable symbols’’ together, you have more than stability, you have strength. Why is the symbol for stable the ‘’upside-down T’’?, because the horizontal line represents the surface, and the vertical line is a ‘’pole’’ or ‘’stick’’ strong enough to stand upright on its own, it’s stable (perfectly vertical), not inclined sideways.
MEANING
ENGLISH: School, academy, college, university, learn, classroom, teach, study
SPANISH: Escuela, academia, universidad, instituto, aprender, salón de clases, enseñar, estudiar
Families: Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is an abstraction of a book. You learn by reading books.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Such
SPANISH: Tal
Families: Slashes, Letters
EXPLANATION
The ’s’’ from ‘’such’’. The purpose of the slash is twofold: 1) to let me know there is an idea coming and 2) to differentiate the letter ‘’s’’ to make it stand out as a unique type of ‘’ s with a slash’’
MEANING
ENGLISH: Such as
SPANISH: Tal como
Families: Letters, Slashes, Connectors
EXPLANATION
The ‘’s’’ and ‘’a’’ from ‘’such as’’. The purpose of the slash is twofold: 1) to let me know there is an idea coming and 2) to differentiate the letters ‘’s’’ ‘’a’ to make them stand out as a unique type of ‘’ s and a with a slash’’
MEANING
ENGLISH: Sue, suit
SPANISH: Demandar, demanda, querella
Families: Legal, Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a red flag. For example, a flag a referee or someone uses to indicate that something is wrong.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Sweet, sugar, sweetener, sugary
SPANISH: Dulce, azúcar, endulzante, azucarado
Families: Food, Medicine, Letters
EXPLANATION
Abbreviation + visual cue.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Surgery, surgical, operation
SPANISH: Cirugía, quirúrgico, operación
Families: Image abstractions, Medicine
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a surgical bed or stretcher (where you are laid down to be operated on).
MEANING
ENGLISH: Swab
SPANISH: Hisopo
Families: Image abstractions, Medicine
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a swab.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Symptom
SPANISH: Symptomatic
Families: X family, Medicine, Letters
EXPLANATION
MEANING
ENGLISH: System, device, technology, tech, machine
SPANISH: Sistema, dispositivo, tecnología, técnico. máquina
Families: Circles, Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a wall outlet. Why? Because in order to make technology work you always have to connect to an outlet.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Friend, companion, partner, team
SPANISH: Amigo, acompañante, pareja, equipo
Families: Letters, Compound symbols
EXPLANATION
This is an abstraction of two people right next to each other, accompanying each other.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Temporary, temporal
SPANISH: Temporal
Families: Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a sand clock. Eventually, the sand will fall into the bottom of the clock.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Ligament, tendon
SPANISH: Ligamento, tendón
Families: Body parts, Image abstractions, Medicine
EXPLANATION
This is the combination of the symbol for ‘’bone’’ + the line connecting each end of the bone is a band of tissue like a ligament or tendon.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Test, exam, assessment, assess, evaluation, evaluate
SPANISH: Prueba, examen, evaluación, evaluar
Families: Image abstractions, Medicine
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a sheet of paper and a checkmark (usually to indicate a good grade on a paper).
MEANING
ENGLISH: Thanks, thankful
SPANISH: Gracias, agradecido
Families: Letters
EXPLANATION
This is the ‘’T’’ from ‘’Thanks’’. In Spanish, we never put accent marks on consonants. This T has an accent mark on top, which makes it a weird T. The T for thanks.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Them
SPANISH: Ellos, ellas
Families: Letters
EXPLANATION
This is an abbreviation. We use the last two letters of ‘’them’’.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Thereby
SPANISH: Así, de este modo
Families: Legal, Letters, Connectors
EXPLANATION
This is the abbreviation of the word ‘’thereby’’. I combine the letters T and B to create a new character. I also use cursive letters because they make this abbreviation stand out more.
MEANING
ENGLISH: They
SPANISH: Ellos, ellas
Families: Letters
EXPLANATION
This is an abbreviation. We use the last two letters of ‘’they’’
MEANING
ENGLISH: Thin, slender, fine, lightweight
SPANISH: Delgado, esbelto, fino, ligero
Families: Medicine, Line
EXPLANATION
The line is thin. Its thinness is even more accentuated by the two short, horizontal lines.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Throat, larynx, pharynx, thyroid, swallow
SPANISH: Garganta, laringe, faringe, tiroides, tragar
Families: Body parts, Medicine, Compound symbols
EXPLANATION
This is a combination of symbols.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Time, wait, moment, clock
SPANISH: Tiempo, esperar, momento, reloj
Families: Image abstractions, Circles
EXPLANATION
This is an abstraction from a clock
MEANING
ENGLISH: Tongue, taste
SPANISH: Lengua, saborear
Families: Body parts, Image abstractions, Medicine
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a tongue.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Tooth, teeth, bite, chew
SPANISH: Diente, dientes, morder, masticar
Families: Medicine, Image abstractions, Body parts
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a set of teeth.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Top, tip, upper
SPANISH: Arriba, superior
Families: Letters
EXPLANATION
This is an arbitrary symbol. The accent mark is on top of the letter ‘’i’’.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Transfer, intersection, transplant, cross, pass, intersect
SPANISH: Transferir, intersección, trasplante, cruzar, pasar, intersectar
Families: Lines
EXPLANATION
These lines are crossing over, intersecting.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Travel, plane, trip
SPANISH: Viajar, avión, viaje
Families: Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a plane
MEANING
ENGLISH: Treatment, treat
SPANISH: Tratamiento, tratar
Families: X family, Medicine, Letters
EXPLANATION
MEANING
ENGLISH: Tremor, shaking, irregular, shaky
SPANISH: Temblor, temblar, irregular, tembloroso
Families: Medicine, Lines
EXPLANATION
Abstraction, arbitrary symbol.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Try, attempt
SPANISH: Intentar, probar
Families: Arrows, Letters, Lines
EXPLANATION
This is a visual cue + abbreviation. It combines the ‘’T’’ for ‘’try’’ but also the little arrow → that indicates movement or action (like going to).
MEANING
ENGLISH: Tube, duct, pipe
SPANISH: Tubo, conducto, tubería
Families: Medicine, Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a tube.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Lump, bump, cyst, tumor, nodule, blister, polyp
SPANISH: Masa, bolita, quiste, tumor, nódulo, ampolla, pólipo
Families: Medicine, Lines
EXPLANATION
This is an arbitrary symbol.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Type, kind, classification, category, classify
SPANISH: Tipo, clasificación, categoría, clasificar
Families: Lines, Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a tournament flowchart or a mind map that branches (classifies) different ideas.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Uncle
SPANISH: Tío
Families: Family members
EXPLANATION
This is another way of representing females and males. I add the repetition of the letters because a family is ‘’a repetition of genes’’, reproduction (produce again, repeat).
A nephew is to his uncle what a daughter is to her mother.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Until, once
SPANISH: Hasta, una vez que
Families: Letters, Lines, Connectors
EXPLANATION
I created a new character from the letters ‘’U’’ and ‘’N’’. It’s like you are going to draw the letter ‘’U’’, change your mind, and finish with half an ‘’N’’.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Up, high, elevated, lift
SPANISH: Arriba, alto, elevado, levantar
Families: Arrows
EXPLANATION
The arrow goes up.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Urethra, ureter
SPANISH: Uretra, uréter
Families: Medicine, Body parts, Letters
EXPLANATION
This is the ‘’U’’ with a little drop at the bottom that represents urine. Both the urethra and ureter are urinary ducts. You would differentiate one or the other with superfixes and subscripts.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Us
SPANISH: Nosotros
Families: Letters
EXPLANATION
You have two options to draw this symbol. Pick the one you like and stick to it.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Vacation, beach, holiday
SPANISH: Vacaciones, vacacionar, playa, día festivo
Families: Image abstractions, Lines
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a palm tree (associated with the beach, which is also associated with ‘’vacations’’). The three projections of this line are the fronds of the palm tree.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Vagina, vaginal, vulva
SPANISH: Vagina, vaginal, vulva
Families: Body parts, Letters, Medicine
EXPLANATION
This is the ‘’v’’ as in ‘’vagina’’. The horizontal line above the ‘’v’’ is just to differentiate this ‘’v’’ from any other ‘’v’’.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Visit
SPANISH: Visita, consulta, visitar
Families: Medicine, Letters, Compound symbols
EXPLANATION
This is a combination of symbols or an abbreviation + visual cue.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Vitamin, mineral, stone
SPANISH: Vitamina, mineral, piedra
Families: Medicine, Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is an abstraction of a jewel. A diamond is a mineral, stones have minerals. Also, we see this symbol as the letter ‘’V’’ as in ‘’vitamin’’ with another ‘’v’’ on top to differentiate it from others.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Volunteer, voluntary, willingly
SPANISH: Voluntario, voluntad, voluntariamente
Families: Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a person raising her hand to volunteer.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Vomit, vomiting
SPANISH: Vomitar, vómito
Families: Letters, Slashes, Medicine
EXPLANATION
This is an abbreviation
MEANING
ENGLISH: Walk, run, stroll
SPANISH: Caminar, correr, pasear
Families: Image abstractions, Medicine
EXPLANATION
This is an abstraction of two little legs running or walking.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Wall, container, contain, lining
SPANISH: Pared, muro, contenedor, envase, contener, revestimiento
Families: Lines, Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a plain wall.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Way
SPANISH: Forma, camino
Families: Letters, Slashes, Image abstractions, Compound symbols
EXPLANATION
This is the combination of the letter ‘’W’’ from ‘’way’’ and the symbol for ‘’street’’.
MEANING
ENGLISH: We
SPANISH: Nosotros
Families: Circles
EXPLANATION
The circle represents union. ‘’We’’ means a group of 2 or more people. ‘’We’’ as in a team, together. We usually use this symbol at the beginning of sentences. It must also be small, otherwise, it could be confused with ‘’ball, circle’’. So, make sure to draw a tiny circle for ‘’we’’.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Weak, fragile, weakness
SPANISH: Débil, frágil, debilidad
Families: Lines
EXPLANATION
This symbol derives from the ‘’stable, support’’ symbol. When the vertical line is so heavy that breaks the horizontal line it creates a point of weakness.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Week, weekly
SPANISH: Semana, semanalmente
Families: Letters
EXPLANATION
Abbreviation from the ‘’W’’ and the ‘’K’’ from ‘’Week’’. I combine these two letters in one letter.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Weight, scale
SPANISH: Peso, báscula
Families: Medicine, Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of one of those old weight scale. The drawing also looks like a ‘’T’’ as in ‘’weight’’ if you remove the two vertical lines ‘’attached’’ to the horizontal line.
MEANING
ENGLISH: What
SPANISH: Qué
Families: W questions
EXPLANATION
Combining the ‘’W’’ and the ‘’T’’ in one single character.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Wheelchair
SPANISH: Silla de ruedas
Families: Medicine, Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a wheelchair.
MEANING
ENGLISH: When
SPANISH: Cuando
Families: W questions
EXPLANATION
The ‘’W’’ and ‘’N’’ from ‘’When’’
MEANING
ENGLISH: Where
SPANISH: Donde
Families: W questions
EXPLANATION
The ‘’W’’ and the ‘’R’’ from ‘’Where’’. You may have noticed that the ‘’R’’ looks like a small 2. The reason behind it is Gestalt and saving strokes. 1st, the fewer strokes a symbol needs, the better (speed). 2nd, Gestalt means that even if you skip some strokes you still get the overall idea because your brain ‘’completes’’ the missing lines.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Which
SPANISH: Cual
Families: W questions
EXPLANATION
The ‘’W’’ and the ‘’H’’ from ‘’Which’’. You have two ways of drawing this. One is a continuous line between ‘’W’’ and ‘’H’’ and the other is ‘’W’’ and ‘’H’’ separated. Choose the one that works best for you and
MEANING
ENGLISH: While
SPANISH: While
Families: W questions, Plotting
EXPLANATION
This is an abbreviation + a visual cue. The ‘’w’’ for ‘’while’’ has a horizontal line. Below the line you can add things as follows:
MEANING
ENGLISH: White blood cell
SPANISH: Glóbulos blancos
Families: Medicine, Letters
EXPLANATION
Standard abbreviation
MEANING
ENGLISH: Who
SPANISH: Quien
Families: W questions, Compound symbols
EXPLANATION
You have two options. Pick the one you like and stick to it. You have the ‘’W’’ and ‘’O’’ from ‘’Who’’. The other option is more abstract.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Why
SPANISH: Por qué
Families: Compound symbols, W questions
EXPLANATION
You have two options for this symbol. Pick one and stick to it. One option combines the ‘’W’’ and ‘’Y’’ of ‘’why’’, the other option is more abstract. It uses the ‘’root square’’. When you find the root square you find ‘’the reason why’’ that number is what it is. For example, the root square of 4 is 2 because of 2x2
MEANING
ENGLISH: With
SPANISH: Con
Families: Slashes, Letters
EXPLANATION
The ‘’W’’ from ‘’With’’. The forward slash will be a very important symbol of a series of symbols like by, b/, for, 4/, without, w/o, etc. The forward slash generally means that there is something else more important coming (another idea or group of ideas).
MEANING
ENGLISH: Without
SPANISH: Sin
Families: Letters, Slashes
EXPLANATION
The ‘’W’’ and th ‘’O’’ from ‘’Without’’. The forward slash will be a very important symbol of a series of symbols like by, b/, for, 4/, with, w/, etc. The forward slash generally means that there is something else more important coming (another idea or group of ideas).
MEANING
ENGLISH: Work, job
SPANISH: Trabajo, empleo
Families: Circles, Letters
EXPLANATION
This the ‘’W’’ from ‘’Work’’. Once you stick to one simple letter to mean something, you should always use it that way. The ‘’W’’ can only be used for ‘’Work’’, ‘’Job’’ but never nothing else.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Afraid, worried, scared, nervous
SPANISH: Temeroso, preocupado, asustado, nervioso
Families: Emotions, Medicine
EXPLANATION
This is a worried face. The two vertical eyes are the eyes. The wobbly lines are the lips trembling. Wobbly lines tend to represent insecurity, worry…
MEANING
ENGLISH: Worse, worsen, deteriorate
SPANISH: Peor, empeorar, deteriorar
Families: Arrows
EXPLANATION
This is like the checkmark symbol but a little different. There are peaks and falls that imply movement (going down). The bottom arrow accentuates that it’s going down, hence worsening.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Would
SPANISH: Podría
Families: Modal verbs
EXPLANATION
The ‘’W’’ and ‘’L’’ from ‘’Would’’.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Wrist
SPANISH: Muñeca
Families: Body parts, Compound symbols, Medicine
EXPLANATION
This is a combination of symbols.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Write, pen, pencil, sign
SPANISH: Escribir, lapicero, lápiz, firmar
Families: Image abstractions
EXPLANATION
This is the abstraction of a pen (quill)
MEANING
ENGLISH: Wrong, mistake, fault, error, fault, failure
SPANISH: Mal, error, culpa, fallo, insuficiencia
Families: X family
EXPLANATION
This is an arbitrary symbol. The ‘’X’’ has many uses. But I always try to tweak the design so I can differentiate one meaning from another, for example:
MEANING
ENGLISH: X-ray
SPANISH: Radiografía, rayos X
Families: Medicine, Letters
EXPLANATION
This is an abbreviation.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Yes
SPANISH: Sí
Families: Letters
EXPLANATION
This is an abbreviation. It’s recommended to always include the dot after the Y. However, with the symbol for ‘’no’’ which is N. (period). It’s mandatory to add the period because without it, ‘’N’’ can mean ‘’need’’.
MEANING
ENGLISH: Yogurt
SPANISH: Yogur
Families: Food, Medicine, Letters
EXPLANATION
This is an abbreviation + visual cue.
