園 - A GARDEN in a Far-Away Country (Where They Wear Loose Clothing All Day)

Readings & Meanings:

エン

その

garden

Common Usage:

動物園

園

Examples:

彼女と動物園でデートした。

アダムとイブはエデンの園から追放された。

Translations:

I went on a date with her at the zoo.

Adam and Eve were exiled from the garden of Eden.

Radical:

Kuni-gamae is the radical here, because there's a box around something.

That something is 袁. It means "loose-fitting clothes." The bottom part comes from 衣. I'd like to say that the top part comes from 土, earth, as in your loose robes get dirty when they touch the ground, but no such luck. 土 here was originally an elliptical pictograph that changed into 土.

Please note that 園 and 遠 have the same part to them, although neither of them seem directly related to loose-fitting robes or kimonos. Instead, I like to remember them together, as in far-away gardens.

Of course, when we get to 猿, I guess I'll have to find a new mnemonic.

References:

http://www.kanjinetworks.com/indices/radindex.html
http://www.thejapanesepage.com/node/kanji/e.htm