TSUMUGU · TOCFL 2 (est.) · 字
封
ㄈㄥ · fēng
verb/noun — to seal, close; to enfeoff; a counter for letters
字源 FORM — what the parts do
A heaped mound of earth (the stacked 土) measured out by a hand (寸). The old graph carries two tellings: a pure assembly — earth heaped and hand measuring, no sound part (說文's 从之从土从寸); or the same mound with 丰 fēng lending the reading underneath. To raise a boundary mound was to grant land — 封地, 分封; then to close a thing off the same way: to seal, 封信, 封閉.
故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by
在地界上一手（寸）一手堆起土堆（土）——封土為界。
At the border, hand over hand (寸), the earth (土) is heaped into a mound — the boundary sealed off.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
(本義)封地、分封— to enfeoff, grant land
→封閉、封口— to seal, close off常用
→一封信— a (counter for) letter常用
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension