how do you even memorize 淡い without falling asleep lol

okay so i’ve been trying to flashcard 淡い like fifty times but it’s so boring... i heard somewhere that you only use 淡い for like, watery colors? or maybe dreams? wait is it true you can't use it for food? anyway i tried drawing pale blue blobs in my notebook to drill it but now i'm just distracted thinking about how it looks like the kanji for river 河... wait are they related? idk i feel like i'm doing this wrong help