TSUMUGU · TOCFL 1 (est.) · 字
刀
ㄉㄠ · dāo
noun — a knife, a blade
字源 FORM — what the parts do
刀形a single-edged blade with its handle, drawn in profile
The whole graph is one knife seen side-on — the curved back, the edge, the handle. A weapon and a tool: 刀子, 菜刀; the cutting it does, 刀切. Pressed against another character it shrinks to 刂 (剛, 切, 到) and lends its sound to 到, 叨.
故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by
一把刀側著擺——彎背朝外，刃口朝下。
One knife in profile — curved back out, edge down.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
(本義)刀、刀子— a knife, a blade常用
→菜刀、刀刃— a cutting tool; the edge常用
⇒一刀、刀法— a stroke of the blade; bladework
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension