TSUMUGU · TOCFL B1 (est.) · 字
薦
薦 ＝ 艸 ＋ 廌
ㄐㄧㄢˋ · jiàn
verb — to recommend, put forward; noun — a grass mat
字源 FORM — what the parts do
艸義grass (艸) — the plant radical, written 艹
廌義a legendary beast (廌) — the grass it feeds on
說文 reads 薦 as the grass an animal eats — 艸 over 廌, the old judging-beast, now worn into a 存-like lower shape. From the offered fodder, and from a grass mat laid out, comes putting a thing forward — to present, then to recommend: 推薦, 自薦.
故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by
把一束草（艹）鋪在獸（廌）前，也鋪成奉上的薦。
A bundle of grass (艸) laid before the beast (廌) — and laid out, too, as an offering.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
(本義)薦席— a grass mat; fodder
→薦舉、推薦— to recommend, put forward常用
⇒自薦— to put oneself forward
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension
關 · Related
荐jiànthe variant — 荐 trims the lower beast away, 薦 keeps under the grass