作品
さくひん · sakuhin · JLPT N3 · noun
work
🎨📖 作品 = make (作) + goods/article (品): a made thing, a creative work
作 means to make or create, as in 作家 (sakka, author). 品 means an item or article, as in 商品 (shouhin, goods). Together they mean something someone made: a novel, a film, a painting or a musical opus.
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.
品 — three 口 (mouth) stacked
品 is an ideogram showing three 口 (mouths or openings) piled together. The repetition of 口 suggests many people, items, or voices, which gave rise to meanings like 'kinds,' 'goods,' 'rank,' and 'to taste/judge.' The triple stacking is a common Chinese device for indicating plurality or variety.