entries → 臭
TSUMUGU · TOCFL 2 (est.) · 字
臭 character · TOCFL 2 (est.)
臭 ＝ 自 ＋ 犬
ㄔㄡˋ · chòu/xiù
adj — stinking, foul; verb (xiù) — to smell at

字源 FORM — what the parts do

自義a nose — 自 is the old graph for the nose, before it was borrowed for "self"
犬義a dog — the nose that tracks
A nose (自) over a dog (犬) — the animal that knows the world by scent. 自 was the nose first; the "self" meaning borrowed it away, so the nose hides here in plain sight. The dog's tracking sense gives smelling, then the bad smell: 臭味.

故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by

狗（犬）抬起鼻子（自）一嗅——什麼味道都瞞不過牠。
The dog (犬) lifts its nose (自) and sniffs — no smell gets past it.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
chòu
(本義)臭味、臭氣— a bad smell, stink常用
→臭名、臭豆腐— foul, notorious — stinking tofu
xiù
(本義)嗅、聞— to smell at, sniff out
→銅臭— the smell of something — a scent
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension
關 · Related
息＝ 自 ＋ 心xíthe lookalike — 息 sets 心 (heart) under the nose 自 for breathing; 臭 sets 犬 (dog) under it for smelling嗅xiùthe later spelling-out — 口 added once 臭 drifted toward "stink"