TSUMUGU · TOCFL 2 (est.) · 字
乾
乾 ＝ 乙 ＋ 倝
ㄍㄢ · gān/qián
adj — dry; (qián) heaven, the male principle
字源 FORM — what the parts do
倝聲gān — gives the soundthe sun rising behind a banner at dawn
The right half 倝 (gān) — sun climbing behind a hanging banner at daybreak — carries the sound. The left 乙 is moisture twisting up and off, the way wet things steam dry in the morning sun. Together: 乾燥, 乾淨. Read qián, the same graph names heaven, sky, the male force — 乾坤.
故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by
朝陽（倝）一出，水氣（乙）扭著升上去——曬乾了。
The dawn sun (倝) comes up, the damp (乙) twists away as vapor — dried out.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
gān
(本義)乾燥— dry, without moisture常用
→乾淨— dry-and-clean; clean
⇒乾貨— dried goods
qián
(假借)乾坤、乾卦— heaven; the male principle (a borrowed reading)常用
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension