TSUMUGU · TOCFL 2 (est.) · 字
而
ㄦˊ · ér
conj — and, yet
字源 FORM — what the parts do
而形drooping whiskers — a chin and its beard
A chin with its beard combed down — the cheek-whiskers. Grammar borrowed the graph whole: the beard now joins clauses — 而且 stacks them, 然而 turns them.
故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by
老人捋著鬍子（而），一綹一綹順下來，話還沒說完。
The old man smooths his beard (而), strand after strand — his sentence not yet finished.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
(本義)頰毛— whiskers on the cheeks
(假借)而且、然而— and, yet — the joining word常用
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension