TSUMUGU · TOCFL 1 (est.) · 字
加
ㄐㄧㄚ · jiā
verb — to add
字源 FORM — what the parts do
Strength (力) behind the mouth (口) — words piled on past the facts; the old sense is to overstate. The piling-on stayed: 加 is whatever goes on top — 增加、加上; 參加 adds you to the group, 加油 pours more in.
故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by
他講收成，嘴（口）一張，力（力）就上來了——一句比一句多兩成。
He talks up the harvest; the mouth (口) opens and the muscle (力) goes in — each sentence a fifth bigger than the last.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
(本義)誇大、施加— to lay it on — overstated words
→增加、加上— to add常用
→參加、加入— to join — added in常用
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension