Strategies for learning Chinese characters: 03 (耸人听闻 and 危言耸听, vs 毛骨悚然)

耸人听闻

sǒng rén tīng wén

"terrify people listen hear"

This describes something that terrifies people when they hear about it.

危言耸听 

wēi yán sǒng tīng

"lofty words terrify hear"

This is translated as "alarmist", i.e., fearless and bold words that terrify people to hear.

(from googling) Quote "危言" (wēi yán) in English generally means bold/lofty/fearless words, often implying speaking frankly or critically in a dangerous/uncertain situation, with common translations being "fearless words," "bold statements,” or "frank speech,” conveying the sense of saying what's right even if it's risky, similar to the Chinese idiom 危言危行 (wēi yán wēi xíng (speaking and acting bravely / uprightly). Unquote

毛骨悚然 

máo gǔ sǒng rán

"body-hair bone terrified manner"

This phrase describes the state of a person when in a particular situation.

(from googling) creepy, spine-chilling, bloodcurdling, make one's hair stand on end

(from googling) Quote “毛骨悚然”的感觉，通常发生在面对真实或想象中的危险、威胁、未知、黑暗、孤独，或是触发了心理创伤、强烈的不安、对失控的担忧时，比如一个人在偏僻的夜晚独处、看到恐怖电影的惊悚画面、听到怪异的响声、或是在人群中感到被孤立时，这些情境都可能激发大脑的恐惧反应，让人感到毛骨悚然。

(google translate) Quote The feeling of "creepy" usually occurs when facing real or imagined danger, threat, unknown, darkness, loneliness, or when it triggers psychological trauma, intense anxiety, or fear of losing control. For example, when a person is alone at a secluded night, sees a horror movie, hears strange noises, or feels isolated in a crowd, these situations can trigger the brain's fear response and make people feel creepy. Unquote

    As you can see, both 耸 and 悚 are pronounced sǒng (same tone even), and both have to do with terror, which makes it difficult to distinguish them in usage when presented in different four-character sayings.  A mnemonic is, therefore, needed for the right answer to be chosen (especially with the clock ticking in a game).

    My mnemonic then, for whether to choose 耸 sǒng or 悚 sǒng in the two sayings of:

_人听闻 (in 耸人听闻) 

and 

危言_听 (in 危言耸听) 

I go for the "听 tīng / to listen" to guide my choice between 耸 sǒng and 悚 sǒng.

    The bottom part of 耸 sǒng is "耳 ěr / ears", therefore this is the one for the two sayings with "听 tīng / listen" in them.