TSUMUGU · TOCFL 1 (est.) · 字
活
活 ＝ 氵 ＋ 舌
ㄏㄨㄛˊ · huó
adj/verb — alive, to live; adj — flexible, lively
字源 FORM — what the parts do
氵義water, running
IFT≠guā → huó — and the donor itself wore into 舌
Running water (氵) — the original word is the sound of a stream moving. The right side began as 𠯑 guā, the sound-giver; centuries of copying wore it into 舌, the tongue. Water that moves is water that lives: 活水, then 活著、生活、靈活.
故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by
舌頭（舌）伸進溪水（氵）裡——冰的，會動的，活的。
A tongue (舌) dips into the stream (氵) — cold, moving, alive.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
(本義)水流（活水）— moving water — the live stream
→活著、生活— alive; to live常用
→靈活、活動— lively, flexible — what keeps moving
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension