TSUMUGU · A2 (est.) · 字
熊
熊 = 能 + 灬
ㄒㄩㄥˊ · xióng
noun — bear
字源 FORM — what the parts do
能聲a bear — the original picture, and the soundthis WAS the word for bear before it was borrowed for "ability"; it carries the sound too, néng → xióng
IFnéng → xióng — the donor reading shifted far
灬形the four dots beneath
能 once drew the bear itself — head, body, two paws — but the graph got borrowed away for "ability, able." To win the bear back, the four dots (灬) were added underneath. The old graph carries two tellings of those dots: the bear's own feet, or fire (火) lent for the sound. Either way 熊 is the beast that stayed in the mountains and slept through winter.
故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by
能(能)本是一頭熊,被人借走當「能力」;底下補四點(灬),熊才回來。
能 was once a bear, borrowed off to mean "ability"; the four dots (灬) underneath bring the bear back.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
(本義)熊— bear常用
→熊貓、北極熊— panda; polar bear
⇒熊熊大火— blazing, raging (of fire) — fierce as a bear
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension