TSUMUGU · TOCFL 1 (est.) · 字
長
ㄔㄤˊ · cháng/zhǎng
adj — long; (zhǎng) to grow; elder, chief
字源 FORM — what the parts do
長形a long-haired elder leaning on a staff — drawn whole
An elder, hair grown long, leaning on a staff — drawn whole. The hair gives cháng, long; the years give zhǎng — grown, senior: 長大、校長.
故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by
杖點著地，白髮垂到腰——人長（zhǎng）到老，髮長（cháng）到腰。
The staff taps the ground; white hair hangs to the waist — grown old, grown long.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
cháng
(本義)長短的長— long常用
→長久、長期— lasting — long in time
zhǎng
(引申)生長、長大— to grow常用
→年長、校長— elder; chief — the longest-grown
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension