For example, one definition for かける is "❶物をほかの物に取り付ける" (first thing「三省堂
スーパー大辞林」shows in the Yomichan browser plugin) . This definition is fine, but I
might struggle to see the connection with metaphorical uses such as "迷惑をかける"
or "魔法をかける". The dictionary just gives further definitions for this kind of
usage: ❸他にある作用を与える。他に影響を及ぼす。The definitions go up to twenty or so, so now I'm
stuck with ~20 seemingly unrelated concepts when a _single_ concept would do
if the metaphorical extensions are explained properly, such as in this great
video:

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MbqmZPySPQ> by Cure Dolly; video title: `かける
/ かかる All-purpose Japanese Explained! Means everything = means nothing? Or
real logic? Lesson 70)`

There are a handful of very common verbs, such as 差す、抜く、当たる、込む where I'm
pretty sure a native would see 1-2 concepts, while it usually seems like 2-20
different concepts to me (depending on the verb). Unfortunately I only know
dictionaries that list definitions, not the common idea behind the word.

Does someone have a resource explaining the central idea behind these kinds of
verbs and their further metaphors? Ideally I'm looking for similar depth to
the video linked above. A good dictionary would also do the job. I'm also
happy if it's Japanese-Japanese.

(related: [this
question](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/25024/where-can-i-find-
the-nuance-meaning-differences-between-words-with-different-kan))

* * *

To be clear, I'm not expecting to magically be able to guess that we say
電話をかける ("hang an electronic conversation"). I'm fully aware that set phrases
like these are arbitrary. Every language has those. But I expect to be able to
tell what an expression means when I see it in the wild. For instance, I can
understand 取り受ける without looking up the word because both 取る and 受ける are very
clear to my English brain and context takes care of the rest. I don't have the
same luxury with 差す and the combinations it appears in, because I don't
understand the general concept behind the verb. So any time 差す appears in
expressions (e.g. 傘を差す) I have to look over ~20 definitions to be able to
guess its meaning. Repeat this like 30 times, because it's hard for me to
remember these seemingly arbitrary and unconnected uses.
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meaning japanese-to-english
Where can I find the *actual* ideas/meanings behind common words (esp. verbs)?
I'll give one resource I'm not fully happy with, but it might still be of help
to some:

[異字同訓 | 常用漢字情報サイト](https://joyokanji.info/iji.html?sa)

has useful disambiguations for "異字同訓", or different-spelling-same-reading
nuances.

* * *

For example if you scroll down to 差す：

【差す】挟み込む。かざす。注ぐ。生じる。
腰に刀を差す。抜き差しならない状況にある。傘を差す。日が差す。目薬を差す。差しつ差されつ。顔に赤みが差す。嫌気が差す。魔が差す。

It sort of describes 差す by using 差す itself, but they're some very compact
usage examples which is already very useful. I can now somewhat interpolate
that the fundamental meaning of 差す is probably "to point" in an abstract sense
(日が指す - the sunlight points somewhere; 傘を差す - you point the umbrella over your
head).  
I'll see if this intuition holds up when I encounter 差す in the wild next time.

I'm still not fully happy because e.g. I don't see how 差し当たる comes to mean
"その場に出くわす。当面する。直面する。". Is the metaphor maybe that my 気 points towards the
situation and then hits (当たる) it head-on?

Ideally, there would exist a resource that gives such a good intution for 差す
that I don't have to second-guess myself. But it's already a step in the right
direction :)
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