The kanji 作 primarily conveys the idea of "to make," "to create," "to produce," or "to build." It implies an action of bringing something into existence, whether it's a physical object, an artwork, or even an abstract concept. It suggests a process of creation, construction, or manufacturing.

・On-yomi (音読み): サク (saku) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): つ作くる (tsuku作ru)

⚫︎ 作品 (sakuhin) Translation: work (of art), composition ⚫︎ 作る (tsuku作ru) Translation: to make, to create, to produce ⚫︎ 作曲 (sakkyoku) Translation: composition (music)

The kanji 作 is a pictophonetic character. The left side is a radical called 人 (nin/hito), which means "person." The right side is 乍 (sa), which has the phonetic function. The original meaning of 作 was related to "making things by a person".