TSUMUGU · TOCFL 4 (est.) · 字
批
批 ＝ 扌 ＋ 比
ㄆㄧ · pī
verb — to mark, approve; to criticize; measure — a batch
字源 FORM — what the parts do
扌義a hand
{b,p,f}ITbǐ → pī — a step inside {b,p,f}; tone shifts too
A hand (扌) striking — the old sense is a blow with the flat of the hand. 比 bǐ carries the sound, b hardened to p. The stroke became the brushstroke: an official's hand coming down on a document is 批准, on an essay 批改, on a person 批評; what one stroke deals with at once is 一批 — a batch.
故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by
公文一疊，硃筆一份一份落下去——手（扌）沒停。
A stack of documents; the vermilion brush comes down on one after another — the hand (扌) never stops.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
(本義)用手擊— to strike with the hand
→批准、批改、批評— to approve, mark, criticize — the brush comes down常用
→一批— a batch — dealt with at one stroke
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension