TSUMUGU · B1 (est.) · 字
沿
沿 ＝ 氵 ＋ 㕣
ㄧㄢˊ · yán
verb/prep — to follow along; along (a river, a coast)
字源 FORM — what the parts do
氵義water
㕣聲yǎn — gives the sounda low marsh between hills — worn down now to 几 over 口, no longer readable on its own
Tyǎn → yán — tone rises
Water (氵) with 㕣 yǎn, a marsh-hollow that has worn down to an unreadable lid-over-mouth shape. A current runs the length of its channel toward the sea; you walk the bank, keeping the water always at your side — to follow along. From tracing a shore: 沿海, and from holding to a course, 沿用 (keep using the old way).
故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by
沿著河（氵）邊一直走，水始終在腳旁。
Walk the river's (氵) edge the whole way, the water always at your feet.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
(本義)沿著、沿岸— to follow along; along the edge常用
→沿海、沿途— along the coast; all along the way常用
⇒沿用、沿襲— to carry on, follow the old way
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension