TSUMUGU · TOCFL 2 (est.) · 字
無
ㄨˊ · wú
adv — to not have; without, none
字源 FORM — what the parts do
無形a dancer holding long feathered plumes, arms spreadthe modern glyph wore flat — the dancer and plumes are no longer visible
The graph began as a dancer holding feathered plumes, arms thrown wide — the picture later read for 舞 (to dance). The everyday word for "to have none" borrowed it and never gave it back; the dancer wore flat into the modern strokes. Now it carries pure negation: 無人、無法、無論.
故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by
舞者張開雙臂，手裡的羽毛甩得看不清了——只剩一片空，無。
The dancer's arms fly wide, the feathers blur until nothing's left to see — emptiness, none.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
(假借)無、沒有— to not have; without常用
→無人、無法— none; unable to常用
⇒無論— no matter, regardless
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension