刺さる
ささる · sasaru · JLPT N3 · verb-godan
to stick
🌵📌 刺 = thorn/pierce; sasu is to stab, sasaru is to end up stuck in
刺さる is the intransitive partner of 刺す (sasu, to stab). The extra -aru turns the stab into a result: the thorn, pin or fishbone is now lodged there. It is also used for words that hit home: 心に刺さる means it struck my heart.
刺 — thorn 朿 (phonetic) + knife 刂 (meaning)
A semantic-phonetic compound. The knife radical 刂 carries the meaning of cutting or piercing, while 朿 (a thorn) supplies both the sound and reinforces the idea of something sharp. Original sense was 'to stab' or 'pierce', later extended to 'thorn', 'sting', and figuratively 'to criticize sharply'.