Bottom phonetic
每 — supplies the sound (měi → méi, just a tone change). Same phonetic appears in
海 hǎi (sea),
梅 méi (plum),
悔 huǐ (regret). Itself originally a picture of a mother (a
母 with hair ornament), no semantic role here. Mnemonic: every (
每) plant (
艹) of this kind bears berries.
