原作
げんさく · gensaku · JLPT N1 · noun
work
📖 原 = origin + 作 = work/creation: the origin work, before any copies or adaptations
原 (gen) means origin or source, as in 原因 (げんいん, cause). 作 (saku) means work or creation, as in 作品 (さくひん, artwork). Together they name the work at the source.
原 — cliff 厂 + spring 泉 (white 白 + water 水)
Originally a pictograph showing a spring of water flowing out from beneath a cliff, depicting the source of a stream. From this concrete image of a water source, the meaning extended to 'origin,' 'source,' and 'original.' A separate character 源 was later created with the water radical 氵 to keep the literal 'spring' sense.
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.