insert, put in, graft, wear (sword)
挿 centers on putting something into a space or holder: inserting, grafting, or wearing a sword by sliding it into a belt or scabbard.
挿 combines 扌 (hand) with 臿, which likely contributes the sound and the idea of inserting or piercing. The exact historical development of 臿 is uncertain.
The hand radical 扌 beside 臿 suggests a hand pushing something into a slot. Picture a hand inserting a plug into a socket.
For ソウ, imagine a hand inserting a sword into a sheath with a smooth 'so' sound: so -> ソウ, as the blade slides in.
insertion; interposition; interpolation; infixing; (sexual) penetration
to insert; to put in
illustration (in a book, newspaper, etc.); picture
flower fastened in the hair
intubation; cannulation
cutting; planting (a cutting)
episode; side story; story within a story; aside; anecdote
small vase for one or two flowers
double penetration
interpolation
teapot-like object made typically of lacquerware and used to pour hot and cold liquids
extrapolation
extrapolation method
to tie; to fix; to attach
flowers in a vase or lapel
to insert; to put in; to thrust in; to plug in
to insert (usu. as part of sexual intercourse)
insertion switch
insert mode
insertion point; insertion slot; insertion opening