TSUMUGU · TOCFL 1 (est.) · 字
南
ㄋㄢˊ · nán
noun — south
字源 FORM — what the parts do
南形rendered bare — the worn whole
The old graph carries two tellings. In one, 南 is a bell-shaped instrument hung to be struck — the shape borrowed for the southern direction. In another, it draws a plant whose branches lean toward the warm south (南方). Either way the modern square keeps neither piece readable; what survives is the word for south: 南方、南風、東南.
故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by
站在屋前，臉朝陽光最足的那邊（南）——暖，往那走。
Stand at the door, face the side where the sun pools longest — south, and warm; you head that way.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
(本義)南方— south常用
→南風、南下— the south wind; to go south常用
⇒東南、西南— southeast, southwest
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension