操作
cāozuò · HSK 4
operate
🎛️ 操 = handle/grasp + 作 = do; literally 'handle-and-do' = operate
操 carries the sense of holding or wielding (think 体操 gymnastics, 操控 control); 作 means to do or make. Together 操作 is the hands-on 'wield-and-do' compound used for operating machinery or manipulating a process.
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.