合作
hézuò · HSK 3
work together
🤝 合 (join/combine) + 作 (do/make) = doing things together
合 means to join or fit together (think of a lid 合 on a container). 作 means to do or make. Combined: jointly doing work — cooperation. The same 合 appears in 合同 (contract) and 合适 (suitable).
合 — 乛 (lid/roof) + 口 (mouth)
Originally a pictograph of a lidded vessel — a cover (亼) closing over an opening (口) — giving the core sense of 'come together, join, fit.' From 'fit/match' it extended to 'combine, unite, agree' and to measure-word uses. The reading hé reflects this 'joining' meaning.
作 — person radical 亻 + 乍
作 combines the person radical 亻 with 乍, which originally depicted a sudden action or making something. The character means 'to do, make, or create,' with 亻 indicating human activity and 乍 supplying the sound. Over time it broadened to cover works, deeds, and acting as something.
hé zuò · HSK 4
to cooperate
🤝 合 = unite/join + 作 = do/make → doing things together
合 means to join or combine (think 合同 contract, 合一 unite); 作 means to do or make (as in 工作 work, 作业 homework). Together: jointly doing work — cooperation.
合 — 乛 (lid/roof) + 口 (mouth)
Originally a pictograph of a lidded vessel — a cover (亼) closing over an opening (口) — giving the core sense of 'come together, join, fit.' From 'fit/match' it extended to 'combine, unite, agree' and to measure-word uses. The reading hé reflects this 'joining' meaning.
作 — person radical 亻 + 乍
作 combines the person radical 亻 with 乍, which originally depicted a sudden action or making something. The character means 'to do, make, or create,' with 亻 indicating human activity and 乍 supplying the sound. Over time it broadened to cover works, deeds, and acting as something.