TSUMUGU · B2 · 字
苛
苛 ＝ 艸 ＋ 可
ㄎㄜ · kē
adj — harsh, severe, exacting
字源 FORM — what the parts do
艸義grass, plants
Tkě → kē — same mouth, tone lifts
Grass (艸) and 可 kě for the sound — the first sense a small weed, the kind that chokes a field. From the choking weed comes everything overbearing and exacting: 苛刻、苛政、苛求. 可 carries the sound through 河、何、荷.
故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by
田裡那叢小草（艸）拔不盡，纏著腳——苛得很。
The little weeds (艸) in the field can't be pulled clean, snagging your feet — harsh, exacting.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
(本義)小草— small weeds, choking grass
→苛刻、苛求— harsh, exacting常用
⇒苛政、苛捐— oppressive — a harsh rule
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension