物资 wu4 material zi1 goods wu4zi1 supplies
cow牛+slaughtered勿 on the left, sequence次 on top right, clams as ancient money on lower left.贝
sequence is represented by a person with a gaping maw and icy sputum. I said you would know the truth and it will set you free, not that you would like it.
Tone trick: Bush, Bullish 41 was into material goods and had plenty of supplies.
短缺 duan3que1 shortage
duan means short. it compares an arrow on the left with a bean pot on the right. both have something in common, they are short. bean pot 豆dou is the phonetic clue
que means a defective piece of pottery. it is certain决jue that this pottery 缶fou is defective.
shortfall is the best literal translation.
定局ding4ju2 foregone conclusion
正upright things under a roof宀 are DEFINITE DING4定
A bureau or office is like a 3d chess board where strategems are worked out. This is a literal chess board but applied metaphorically it is also a board of directors, a sounding board, i.e. a bureau or office. Door户 + Sentences句 = Office局
中断zhong1duan4 central+cutting off = interruption, stoppage
bullseye target on the left illustrates CENTER 中
ax on the right 斤 + 1 meter米mi of silk rope on the left being cut
恢复hui1fu4 restore, recover + repeat, reduplicate = to resume, to recover.
Grey灰hui1 ash on the heart忄 = RECOVER because whatever was burning has burnt to completion cooled down and now is on the heart. this is likely a religious reference to e.g. burning of paper at funerals. after the paper is completely burnt one’s heart is restored and at ease again.
The fu4 character复 here is a reference to folding over and working on clothing. It’s been standardized to the point where the original vivid picture is lost. each person, each day, again and again sets forth, over and over again. fu4复 REDUPLICATE, REPEAT