城 (chéng) — city wall; city

entries → 城

TSUMUGU · TOCFL 2 (est.) · 字

城 character · TOCFL 2 (est.)

城＝土＋成

ㄔㄥˊ · chéng

noun — city wall; city

字源 FORM — what the parts do

土義earth — rammed

成聲chéng — gives the sound, exact說文: 成亦聲 — sound and sense at once

Earth (土) rammed hard, course over course — the wall. 成 chéng gives the sound exactly, and 說文 hears its sense too: the wall completes the town. First the wall itself (城牆、長城), then everything it holds: 城市、進城.

故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by

兩塊夾板中間填土（土），木杵一下一下夯——牆又高了一層。

Earth (土) tipped between the plank frames, the wooden rammer falling stroke after stroke — the wall one course higher.

字源記憶法

意 · Meanings

(本義)城牆— the city wall常用

→城市、城裡— the city — what the wall holds常用

(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension