TSUMUGU · TOCFL B2 (est.) · 字
塞
塞 ＝ 土 ＋ 𡨄
ㄙㄞ · sāi/sè/sài
verb (sāi/sè) — to stuff, block, stop up; noun (sài) — a frontier pass
字源 FORM — what the parts do
𡨄聲sè — gives the soundthe same packed-in block found inside 寒
FTthe donor's reading splits across 塞's three sounds sāi/sè/sài
Earth (土) below carries the meaning — packing a gap full to block it. The upper block, the same one that sits inside 寒, gives the sound. From stuffing a hole shut: to plug, to jam (sāi) — 塞住、堵塞; read sè it turns literary — 阻塞、閉塞; and the blocked-off frontier pass (sài) — 邊塞、要塞.
故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by
抓一把土（土）往縫裡填——塞滿，堵死。
A fistful of earth (土) packed into the gap — stuffed full, stopped shut.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
sāi
(本義)塞住、堵塞— to stuff, plug, block常用
sè
(引申)阻塞、閉塞— to obstruct, block (literary)常用
sài
(引申)邊塞、要塞— a frontier pass, fortress
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension