TSUMUGU · TOCFL 2 (est.) · 字
刻
刻 ＝ 刂 ＋ 亥
ㄎㄜˋ · kè
verb — to carve, engrave; noun — a quarter-hour, moment
字源 FORM — what the parts do
刂義a knife at the right
亥聲hài — gives the soundthe twelfth earthly-branch graph
{h,k}IThài → kè — the {h,k} crossing at the throat, tone shifts
A knife (刂) cuts into a hard surface — 鏤也, to engrave. 亥 hài lends the sound, shifted to kè. From the cut: 雕刻 carve, then the notch on a water-clock for a unit of time — 一刻鐘 a quarter-hour — and the cutting edge turned to temper, 刻薄 harsh. The 亥 series runs 該、孩、咳.
故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by
刀尖（刂）抵著硬木，一道一道刻下去。
The knife-tip (刂) bites the hard wood, cutting one line, then the next.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
(本義)雕刻— to carve; to engrave常用
→一刻、此刻— a quarter-hour; a moment常用
⇒刻薄— harsh; biting — the cutting edge in a temper
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension
關 · Related
亥hàithe sound-giver alone — 刻 sets a knife beside it咳＝ 口 ＋ kéthe cousin — 咳 takes a mouth 口, the same inside