Why is pairing zero with Google's quantum computer a good peg? And what about pairing six with Master Mantis from the Kung Fu Panda franchise? Meaning is the key, and by creating a number list from 0 to 20, I’ll share some advice to help you build your own.
This is the second part of a series about the Pegword Method. Initially, I shared what the Pegword Method is and how to implement the rhyming system. Now I want to delve into the second out of four Pegword systems: the Meaning System.
In this article, I’m going to share what the meaning system of the Pegword Method is and go over the step-by-step process of creating the number list from 0 to 20 using this approach. I’ll also share a few practical ways to use this mnemonic device.
The Meaning System of the Pegword Method
We already know that the Memory Palace Technique helps us memorize and recall speeches and large texts, pass exams, win memory competitions, and serve other mind-exciting uses. When using this method, it’s hard to access the stored information directly at a specific index location, since memorizing the numbers for each location is highly abstract. This is the problem that the Pegword Method solves.
The Pegword meaning system focuses on creating pegs that help us recall the sound and meaning of the words we want to remember later. For instance, if we want to memorize numbers on the basis of meaning, we can do it as follows:
Zero – an empty box
One – me (there is only one me)
Three – pitchfork (three prongs)
Five – hand (five fingers)
Nine – baseball (nine players on a team)
In this system, the connections are more logical and less arbitrary, which can help create stronger mental images for some people. Because it is hard to find pairing associations in the rhyming system after ten, we can mix it with the meaning system when we want to memorize numbers higher than 10. For instance, we could use the gun from the rhyming system and “me” from the meaning system for 11, and a gun and a pitchfork for 13, and so forth.
Practical Applications
Speech or logical argumentation: We can memorize a complex argument or a list of product features by creating associations such as:
Peg 1: Feet (foundation or support)
Peg 2: Stomach (core argument)
Peg 3: Hands (action or doing)
Peg 4: Head (logic or vision)
Language learning: It is possible to use this system to recall the phonetics of vocabulary from the target language by creating associations such as:
- Ropa (clothes in Spanish): Sounds like “rope.” Imagine your clothes made of heavy, scratchy rope.
- Cena (dinner in Spanish): Imagine a dramatic scene happening right on your dinner plate.
Implementing the Pegword Method: Meaning System, Project Four
In the next few lines, I’m going to share my process for building a list of pegs for the numbers from 0 to 20 using the meaning system of the Pegword Method.
Initially, I took enough time to associate all the numbers with images I could retrieve from my own imagination. For those numbers that were really hard to pair with an appropriate association, I used AI for inspiration, which I’ll explain. Six, Nine, fifteen, and seventeen.
Zero – Google’s quantum Computer, because to preserve quantum states they must keep the particles in a vacuum.
One – My mom, because we have an inside joke in our family that says in Spanish “Madre, solo hay una” —Mother, there is only one.
Two – My two sisters.
Three – God’s Trinity in a triangle. The Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost.
Four – A car. My father’s taxi.
Five – Five fingers, a hand. The hand of Midas, a memorable Greek legend hand that transforms anything it touches into gold.
Six – Master Mantis from Kung Fu Panda —bugs have six legs. Because I couldn’t get a personal and strong image for this number I got this suggestion from the Gemini AI: “The ‘Bug’ Number. The most reliable biological association for six is the insect world.”
Seven – Snow White and the seven dwarfs.
Eight – Lucas the Spider —spiders have eight legs. A memorable spider because of his warm-hearted nature.
Nine – The birth of Jesus. The complete scene with the angels, Mary and Joseph. Nine months of pregnancy before he was born. This was the AI Suggestion “The "Human" Nine Months of Pregnancy: This is the most common biological association. It takes 9 months for a human to be born.”
Ten - The ten commandments in the tablets of stone.
Eleven - América de Cali. My country’s favorite soccer team. In soccer there are eleven players playing for each team.
Twelve - The Last Supper painting because there are 12 apostles.
Thirteen - My first iphone. The first Iphone I got in my life was the Iphone 13 pro.
Fourteen - Yepes’ goal, a Colombian soccer player. 2014 was my first time watching the Colombia national soccer team play in a World Cup championship. When they were eliminated, there was that disallowed goal by Yepes.
Fifteen - A billiard table and balls. The rack of pool balls contains 15 numbered balls.
Sixteen - Martin Luther. The Protestant Reformation took place in the 16th century.
Seventeen - The Parthenon has 17 columns along its sides. This idea was suggested by Gemini AI: "The Parthenon: The famous Greek temple in Athens has 17 columns along its sides.“
Eighteen - My National ID - In my country we get an Adult ID when we turn 18.
Nineteen - Rober Downey Jr. as Sherlock Holmes. A Character created in the 19th Century.
Twenty - Bogotá’s Lockdown. I was living in Bogotá during the 2020 Lockdown.
After setting up all the numbers with their respective associations, I recalled them one by one to see which ones were not very memorable. For instance, at first I had associated six with a self-tuning guitar operated by a mechanical robot. I eventuallyI swapped it out because I couldn’t retrieve that image easily. I also changed eight’s image from Spider-Man to Lucas the Spider — something more memorable for me.
For other associations, I made them more accurate. For instance, for number 14, at first I had paired it with the Colombia national soccer team playing against Brazil in 2014. Because I needed something more memorable from that game, I selected a specific player and situation: Yepes’ Goal.
Finally, I recalled the entire list as quickly as possible and noticed which associations still needed to stick in my memory. I added these to my spaced repetition review in Anki. In my case, the difficult associations were seven, thirteen, and eighteen.
Final Thoughts
I am highly visual, so I find this system more appealing for memorizing the numbers using this mnemonic device. Another compelling reason to implement this system rather than rhyming, is that I can use the same images to store information in both languages — English and Spanish.
Let me know in the comments if you have any other practical ideas for applying this pegword system or any other crazy associations you’ve created for any of the numbers.
In the next article I will delve into the third system of the Pegword method as part 3 of this series.
References
Gemini AI. (2026). Content suggestions for the “some practical applications” examples used in this article. [AI‑generated assistance]. Google DeepMind.
Higbee, K. L. (2001). Your memory: How it works and how to improve it. Marlowe & Co.
Leitman, J. (n.d.). What is the pegword method? How can I use it? KeyToStudy. https://www.keytostudy.com/what-is-the-pegword-method-how-can-i-use-it/
Metivier, A. The pegword method: The ultimate guide to memorizing lists. Magnetic Memory Method. https://www.magneticmemorymethod.com/pegword-method/
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