TSUMUGU · TOCFL C1 (est.) · 字
塵
ㄔㄣˊ · chén
noun — dust; the dusty mundane world
字源 FORM — what the parts do
IFTlù → chén — the deer-sound worn right across
A deer (鹿) running over the ground (土) — the dust it throws up. The old graph carries two tellings: a herd of deer raising a cloud over the earth (the oldest form stacked three deer over 土), or 鹿 lending the sound, worn across to chén. Either way the word is the fine dirt that hangs in the air: 灰塵、塵土. From floating dust, the worldly grime everyone lives in: 紅塵、塵世.
故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by
一群鹿（鹿）從乾地（土）上奔過，身後一片土飛起來。
A herd of deer (鹿) bolts across the dry ground (土), and a haze of dirt lifts behind them.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
(本義)灰塵、塵土— dust常用
→粉塵、塵埃— fine dust, particles
⇒紅塵、塵世— the mundane world — its dust on everyone
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension