TSUMUGU · TOCFL 2 (est.) · 字
非
ㄈㄟ · fēi
adv/prefix — not, is not; wrong
字源 FORM — what the parts do
非形two wings spread back to back — the pair from 飛
Two wings beat away from each other, back to back — the pair from the flying bird in 飛. Backs turned writes going against; from there, wrong (是非) and the plain not (非賣品). 非常 begins as "outside the ordinary" — and wears down to "very".
故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by
鳥拍翅，左翅向左，右翅向右——背對著背。
The bird beats its wings — left wing left, right wing right, back to back.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
(本義)相背、違背— backs turned — to go against
→錯、是非— wrong — the side that turned away
→不是、非⋯— is not; non-常用
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension