工作
gōng zuò · HSK 1
job
🔨 工 = tool/craft + 作 = do/make; literally craft-do = work
工 originally depicted a carpenter's square (a craftsman's tool), and 作 means to do or make. Together 工作 reads as craft-plus-do, i.e. the doing of skilled labor — work or a job.
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.