著作
zhùzuò · HSK 4
writing
📚 著 = write/author + 作 = make/create; together = a written work
著 carries the sense of authoring or marking down; 作 means to make or produce. Combined, 著作 names what an author makes — a book, treatise, or body of written work (oeuvre).
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.