Grain radical 禾 + 尔 - originally weighing grain. This entry covers the chēng reading (call, state, name, praise, weigh). The chèn reading (to fit / match) is a separate entry.
Naming senses use chēng: 称为 / 称作 (to be known as), 称呼 (to address), 名称 (name/title). The weighing sense is colloquial in spoken Mandarin; the formal noun for a scale is 秤.
memory
The grain radical 禾 ties chēng to weighing grain on a balance - saying the weight, then saying someone's name, then saying highly of them. Weigh, then state, then name, then praise.
Left grain radical - picturing a stalk of ripe grain bending under its weight. Anchors 称 in the original sense of weighing grain on a balance. From weighing came naming (saying the weight) and praising (saying highly of). Same grain family: 秋 (autumn), 种 (seed), 租 (rent), 私 (private).
Right 尔 supplies a residual phonetic value (ěr to chēng/chèn through old initial drift). The traditional 稱 had a fuller phonetic 爯; the simplified 称 substitutes 尔 as a graphic shortcut. Same phonetic shortcut in: 你 (you).
