TSUMUGU · TOCFL 1 (est.) · 字
辛
ㄒㄧㄣ · xīn
adj — pungent, hot (spicy); hard, toilsome
字源 FORM — what the parts do
辛形rendered bare — a tattooing knifethe broad-bladed knife once used to brand criminals
The picture of a broad knife — the blade once used to brand and mark criminals. The sting of that blade gives the taste that bites: 辛辣. The lot of the marked and punished gives the hard, bitter toil: 辛苦、辛勞. The cross-shaped top is the worn handle of the blade, no longer a knife to the eye.
故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by
寬刃的刑刀（辛）一刺，又痛又嗆——那味道，那日子，都是辛。
The broad branding-knife (辛) cuts in — the pain and the sting both — and that is 辛, in the taste and in the toil.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
(本義)刑刀— a branding knife (the picture)
→辛辣— pungent, hot (spicy)常用
⇒辛苦、辛勞— hard, toilsome常用
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension