TSUMUGU · TOCFL C1 (est.) · 字
穆
穆 ＝ 禾 ＋ 㣎
ㄇㄨˋ · mù
adj — solemn and reverent; gentle, harmonious; (surname Mù)
字源 FORM — what the parts do
禾義grain on the stalk
㣎聲mù — gives the soundripe ears drooping over 白, with fine strokes 彡 — the heavy grain
Grain (禾) on the left; on the right, ripe ears bowing low with fine strokes 彡 trailing — together 㣎 mù, carrying the sound. The first sense was a kind of millet, the heavy heads hanging full. From the ear bent in ripeness came the bowed, reverent bearing: 肅穆 solemn, 穆穆 dignified and calm.
故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by
一田禾（禾）熟透，穗子沉得低下頭——那低垂的姿態，就是恭敬。
A field of grain (禾) ripened full, the heads bowing low under their own weight — and that bowing is reverence.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
(本義)穆（禾名）— a kind of millet
→肅穆、穆穆— solemn, reverent常用
⇒和穆— gentle, harmonious
→穆（姓）— the surname Mù
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension
關 · Related
睦mùthe lookalike-by-sound — 睦 sets an eye 目 for harmony between people, 穆 sets grain 穌sūthe near-frame on — 穌 puts 魚 (revive), 穆 puts the drooping ears