TSUMUGU · B1 (est.) · 字
探
探 ＝ 扌 ＋ 罙
ㄊㄢˋ · tàn
verb — to reach into, search out; to probe
字源 FORM — what the parts do
扌義the hand
罙聲shēn — a hand reaching into a cave (穴); gives the sound — and the reaching-deep toodual-role: the same element fills 深 (deep); buried in the right side, hard to read alone
{sh,t}ITshēn → tàn — the sh pulled to t, tone too
A hand (扌) reaches far in to take — to probe, to seek out. 罙 shēn already shows a hand going into a cave (穴) for something deep, the same piece that makes 深 "deep"; it gives the sound (worn from sh to t) and the depth both. So 探測 sounds out, 探索 searches, 探望 goes in to visit, 探險 ventures deep.
故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by
手（扌）探進黑洞（罙）裡，一寸寸往深處摸。
The hand (扌) reaches into the dark cave (罙), groping deeper inch by inch.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
(本義)探測、探索— to probe, search out常用
→探望、探訪— to visit, call on — to go in and see
⇒探險、探頭— to venture; to stick the head out and look
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension