entries → 燃
TSUMUGU · B2 (est.) · 字
燃 character · B2 (est.)
燃 ＝ 火 ＋ 然
ㄖㄢˊ · rán
verb — to burn, ignite, set alight

字源 FORM — what the parts do

火義fire
然聲rán — gives the sounddog-meat over fire — itself the old word for "to burn"
Fire (火) added to 然 rán, exact in sound — and 然 was itself the original "to burn," dog-meat 肰 set over fire 灬. Once 然 drifted off to mean "so, thus," a fresh fire was bolted on to keep the flame: 燃燒、點燃、燃料.

故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by

火（火）一湊上去，乾柴轟地竄起火苗——燃。
The fire (火) touches the dry wood and it goes up in a rush of flame — alight.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
(本義)燃燒— to burn, combust常用
→點燃— to ignite, light
→燃料— fuel
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension
關 · Related
然ránthe phonetic — once "to burn" itself, now "so, thus"; 燃 added 火 to reclaim the fire燒＝ 火 ＋ 堯shāothe partner in 燃燒 — 燒 the act of burning, 燃 the catching alight
演 · Evolution
然本是「燒」，後被借去作「如此」。本義落了空，便補上一個火，寫成燃——這把火是後人添回去的。
然 carried "to burn" until it was borrowed for "so, thus." With the original sense stranded, scribes added a second 火 to write 燃 — the fire put back by hand.