TSUMUGU · TOCFL B2 (est.) · 字
孤
ㄍㄨ · gū
adj — orphaned, alone, solitary
字源 FORM — what the parts do
FTguā → gū — the rime narrows and the tone falls, the g holds
子 beside 瓜 — a child, and the melon that hangs by itself on the vine. 瓜 carries the sound, guā worn to gū with the g kept. The graph names the orphan, and from there everything left alone: 孤兒、孤單.
故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by
一個孩子（子），像藤上單掛的那顆瓜（瓜）——身邊沒人。
A child (子), like the one melon (瓜) left hanging on the vine — no one beside it.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
(本義)孤兒— orphan常用
→孤單— alone, lonely常用
⇒孤立— isolated, cut off
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension