TSUMUGU · C1 (est.) · 字
艱
艱 ＝ 堇 ＋ 艮
ㄐㄧㄢ · jiān
adj — hard, difficult, arduous
字源 FORM — what the parts do
堇聲jǐn — sticky yellow clay; gives both meaning AND sound, worn to jiān
Fjǐn → jiān — the final opened to -ian
艮形the figure beside the clay
堇 is sticky yellow clay — earth too stiff to break. The old word is exactly that: clay too hard to till. 堇 does double duty, giving the clay-difficulty and the sound, jǐn worn to jiān. From soil that fights the plow, every hardship: 艱難、艱苦、艱辛.
故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by
一塊黏土（堇）硬邦邦，鋤頭下去彈回來——艱。
A clod of stiff clay (堇); the hoe comes down and bounces back — 艱.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
(本義)土難治— clay too hard to till
→艱難、艱苦— hard, arduous常用
⇒艱辛、艱鉅— hardship; a heavy, hard task
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension