金（かね、かな‐、キン、コン）

Meaning: gold

Components: 𠆢 (roof), 干 (to dry)

My hack:   ( Grr. These radicals are the hardest ones, and you can’t just skip them because they show up EVERYWHERE.)

I try to think of this as a gold mine, where the first 2 strokes are the roof, the next 3 strokes are something like a jack hammer, the two dot-like strokes are sparks, and the last is the ground. I’m sure this has absolutely no relation to how gold is actually produced, but it makes a nice visual stimulus.

𠆢 (やね)

Meaning: roof

My hack: not much need for one, since it looks like a roof. Think of a park pavilion.

音（おと、ね、オン、イン）

Meaning: sound

Components: 立 (stand), 日 (day, sun)

My hack: If you had to stand on the sun, I’m pretty sure you’d make a sound (if only for a nanosecond).

草（くさ、ソウ）

Meaning: grass

Components: 艹(grass), 早 (early)

My hack: You should water your grass early (it’s better for the environment, you know).

OR

Grass (poking up through the snow) is an early sign of spring.

Any other ideas?

雨（あめ、あま‐、ウ）

Meaning: rain

My hack: This looks a lot like rain on a window to me. The first stroke is the curtain rod above the window, or maybe the top of the window. Strokes 2-4 outline the window panes, and the last 4 strokes are the drops of rain on the window.

Remember this one well, because it’s the radical for all sorts of kanji having to do with weather.

穴（あな、ケツ）

Meaning: hole, opening

Components: 宀 (no meaning), 八 (eight) or katakana ハ

My hack: What sound would come out of your mouth if you fell in a hole? “Uwha?!” (ウハ?!)