Origin

This character combines a heart radical on the left, which marks it as relating to mental activity or feelings, with the component 意 on the right that serves as a sound hint for pronunciation. The character 意 itself means "intention" or "thought," so while it primarily tells you how to say 憶, it also hints at the mental nature of remembering. Together, the heart symbol and this sound component create a character that represents the mind's work of recalling something from memory—the act of thinking back or bringing a past experience to mind.