TSUMUGU · TOCFL 2 (est.) · 字
普
ㄆㄨˇ · pǔ
adj — general, widespread, universal
字源 FORM — what the parts do
並聲bìng — gives the sound, worn toward pǔalso read as meaning: side by side, all together — worn flat in the modern top, no longer obviously 並
{b,p,f}IFTbìng → pǔ — the b hardens toward p across the {b,p,f} family, rime and tone shift
The old graph carries two tellings. In one, 日 over 並 is sunlight falling side by side on everything at once — 並 the meaning, two figures standing together. In the other, 並 bìng carries the sound, worn toward pǔ. Either way the 並 up top has flattened and no longer shows its two-standing shape. Light that reaches all alike is the general, the common: 普遍 widespread, 普及 to reach all, 普通 ordinary.
故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by
太陽一出，光鋪滿原野，沒有一處落空。
The sun comes up and its light fills the whole plain, leaving no corner out.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
(本義)普遍、遍及— widespread, universal常用
→普及— to spread to all, popularize常用
→普通— ordinary, common常用
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension