entries → 蟬
TSUMUGU · C1 (est.) · 字
蟬 character · C1 (est.)
蟬 ＝ 虫 ＋ 單
ㄔㄢˊ · chán
noun — a cicada

字源 FORM — what the parts do

虫義a small creature, a bug
單聲dān — gives the sound, worn to chán
{d,ch}Idān → chán — the initial slid to ch
A small creature (虫) and 單 dān for the sound, worn to chán. The word is the cicada — the bug that drums all summer from the trees. From the cicada that holds one note unbroken came 蟬聯, to hold a title in unbroken succession.

故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by

一隻蟲（虫）趴在樹幹上，一聲（單）拉得老長——蟬。
A bug (虫) clamped to the trunk, drawing out one (單) long note — 蟬.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
(本義)蟬、知了— a cicada常用
→蟬蛻— the shell a cicada sheds
⇒蟬聯— to hold (a title) in unbroken succession
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension
關 · Related
禪chánthe 單 series — 示 (altar) beside it for meditation, Zen單dānthe bare phonetic — add the bug and "single" becomes the cicada