TSUMUGU · B2 (est.) · 字
椒
椒 ＝ 木 ＋ 尗
ㄐㄧㄠ · jiāo
noun — pepper (Sichuan pepper, chili, the spice plant)
字源 FORM — what the parts do
尗聲shū — gives the sound
{sh,j}IFTirregular
A plant (木) with 尗 — the pepper bush, its berries hot and fragrant. 尗 shū carries the sound, shifted hard to jiāo over the centuries. The 說文 ancestor 茮 wrote it with grass 艸; the wood form 椒 settled in for the spice tree: 花椒、辣椒.
故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by
一株（木）綴滿紅果的椒，碾開一顆，滿手又麻又香。
A bush (木) hung with red berries; crush one and your hand tingles with the heat.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
(本義)椒、花椒— the pepper plant, its berries常用
→辣椒、胡椒— chili; black pepper
⇒椒房— the empress's chambers (lined with pepper-clay for warmth and scent)
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension
關 · Related
菽shūthe sound kin — 菽 keeps under grass 艸 for beans, 椒 sets it beside wood for the spice