TSUMUGU · TOCFL 1 (est.) · 字
它
ㄊㄚ · tā
pronoun — it
字源 FORM — what the parts do
它形a coiled snake — broad head, body curling away
A snake — broad head above, the body curling off below; this is the old word for snake itself, later regrown with 虫 as 蛇. 說文 keeps the greeting from the grass-hut days: 「無它乎？」 — no snakes? Borrowed for it, the third person of things.
故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by
草一動，一條蛇（它）抬起頭，身子還彎在後面。
The grass stirs — a snake (它) lifts its head, body still curled behind.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
(本義)蛇（本字）— the snake — now written 蛇
(假借)它、它們— it — the pronoun for things常用
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension