耕作

こうさく · kousaku · JLPT N1 · noun

farming

耕 — plow 耒 + well 井
耕 is a semantic compound. The left side 耒 depicts an ancient wooden plow, and the right side 井 (a well, also suggesting the grid of a 'well-field' land system) hints at cultivated fields. Together they mean to plow or till the land for farming.

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.

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