短編
たんぺん · tanpen · JLPT N2 · noun
gram
📖🎬 短 (short) + 編 (compiled, edited work) = a short story or short film
編 means to compile or edit, as in 編集 (editing). So 短編 is a short edited work, the opposite of 長編 (a long work).
短 — arrow 矢 + bean/vessel 豆
Originally a phono-semantic compound: 矢 (arrow) gives the meaning, since arrows were used as a short measuring stick, while 豆 (an ancient stemmed vessel) supplied the sound. From 'short in length' the meaning broadened to 'short' in time, stature, or quality.