TSUMUGU · TOCFL 5 (est.) · 字
栽
栽 ＝ 木 ＋ 𢦏
ㄗㄞ · zāi
verb — to plant, set (a tree, a seedling); to tumble, take a fall
字源 FORM — what the parts do
𢦏聲zāi — gives the sound; the 𢦏 series donor (載, 裁, 戴)
A plant (木) under 𢦏 (zāi) for the sound — to set a seedling in the ground: 栽樹, 栽種. 𢦏 is the workhorse phonetic behind 載 (load), 裁 (cut cloth), 戴 (wear on the head); here it plants. From setting upright came its opposite by a slip — 栽跟頭, to take a tumble.
故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by
彎下腰，把一棵小樹（木）正正種進坑裡——栽。
Stooping, you set the young tree (木) straight into the hole — 栽.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
(本義)栽種、栽樹— to plant, set in the ground常用
→栽培— to cultivate, nurture
→栽跟頭— to tumble, take a fall
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension