制作
せいさく · seisaku · JLPT N2 · noun
gram
🎬 制 (make) + 作 (work/make) = make + make: to make a film, book, or work
制 means to make or control, and 作 means to make or create. Together 制作 means producing something like a film or book, so the 'work' is what gets made.
制 — knife 刂 + 未 (tree branches)
Originally depicted a knife 刂 cutting branches from a tree, showing the act of trimming or shaping wood. From this concrete sense of cutting to size came the meanings 'to make,' 'to manufacture,' and by extension 'to control' or 'regulate' — shaping things to a desired form.
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.