TSUMUGU · TOCFL B1 (est.) · 字
窄
窄 ＝ 穴 ＋ 乍
ㄓㄞˇ · zhǎi
adj — narrow, cramped
字源 FORM — what the parts do
乍聲zhà — gives the sound
FTzhà → zhǎi — the vowel opens, tone shifts
A cave (穴) pinched small — narrow, cramped. 乍 zhà carries the sound, worn toward zhǎi. The squeezed-in space, and the squeezed-in mind: 狹窄、窄小、心窄.
故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by
鑽進洞穴（穴），忽然（乍）兩壁逼過來——好窄。
Crawl into the cave (穴), and all at once (乍) the walls press in — so narrow.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
(本義)狹窄、窄小— narrow, cramped常用
→心窄、窄路— narrow-minded; a tight path
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension
關 · Related
窘jiǒngthe lookalike — both shelter under the cave ; 窘 traps a 君 in the hole for a fix, 窄 takes for narrowness