TSUMUGU · B1 (est.) · 字
損
損 ＝ 扌 ＋ 員
ㄙㄨㄣˇ · sǔn
verb — to reduce, harm, damage
字源 FORM — what the parts do
扌義the hand
員聲yuán — a round vessel (口) over a tripod (貝/鼎), a count; gives the soundthe reading swings far from yuán
IFTyuán → sǔn — the sound carries over only loosely
The hand (扌) takes from a count, wears it down — to reduce, to harm. 員 yuán, a round measure that came to mean a head-count, lends the sound, swung loose to sǔn. So 損失 is what's lost, 損害 is damage done, 損耗 is the wearing-away.
故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by
滿滿一份東西（員），被手（扌）一點點拿走，剩的越來越少。
A full measure of goods (員); the hand (扌) draws bits away, and what's left keeps shrinking.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
(本義)損失、損害— to reduce; loss, damage常用
→損壞、損傷— to damage, injure常用
⇒損人— to belittle, jab at — to chip at a person
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension