TSUMUGU · TOCFL 1 (est.) · 字
元
元 ＝ 二 ＋ 儿
ㄩㄢˊ · yuán
noun — head; first; dollar
字源 FORM — what the parts do
儿義a person, legs visible
A person (儿) with the head marked — the strokes on top are the head, worn flat by copying. Head writes first: 元旦 the year's first morning, 元年 the first year. As money it is borrowed for 圓 yuán, the round coin — same sound, fewer strokes.
故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by
排好隊，數人頭——從最前面那一顆數起。
The line forms; heads are counted — starting from the very first head.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
(本義)頭（元首）— the head — kept in 元首
→開始、第一— first; the beginning常用
→錢的單位— the dollar — standing in for 圓 yuán
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension