憂 (yōu) — to worry; sorrow, grief

entries → 憂

TSUMUGU · B2 (est.) · 字

憂 character · B2 (est.)

憂＝頁＋心＋夂

ㄧㄡ · yōu

verb/noun — to worry; sorrow, grief

字源 FORM — what the parts do

頁聲yè — gives the sounda head, bowed — and in the 說文 telling, the phonetic

FTyè → yōu — the donor's reading worn away

心義the heart — heavy

夂義feet dragging — slow, reluctant steps

A bowed head (頁), a heavy heart (心), feet that drag (夂) — the whole body weighed down by worry. The old graph carries two tellings: 頁 yè lends the sound over the heart (從心頁聲), or the feet 夊 carry the sense while a worn inner element 𢚧 gives it. From the sinking feeling: 憂愁、憂慮、擔憂.

故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by

頭（頁）垂著，心（心）沉著，腳（夂）一步步拖不開——滿身的愁。

Head bowed (頁), heart sunk (心), feet dragging (夂) — worry hangs on the whole body.

字源記憶法

意 · Meanings

(本義)憂愁、憂慮— to worry; sorrow常用

→擔憂— to be anxious about

⇒憂患— trouble, affliction

(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension