Making and creating things with 作
The kanji 作 means create or produce . It appears in words for physical works and works of art. It can also mean to do or perform .
Etymology
This kanji is a phono-semantic compound . It joins 亻 (person ), the meaning component, with 乍, the sound component.
Operations 作業 (Work)
作業(さぎょう) means work, a task, or an operation. It usually refers to practical activity carried out toward a specific result.
It combines 作 (make ) with 業 (work ) to show productive work .
Kanji Explanation: Separating and understanding with 解 (Future entry)
名探偵コナン » Volume 23 » Page 12Conan and his friends go to the theater to see a movie. There, they discover this is the last day before the theater closes.
コナン: 「そっか！それで場内(じょうない) にロープとかが落(お) ちてたんだね！」“Oh, I see! That's why there were ropes and stuff lying around the venue!” オーナー: 「スマンのう… 業者(ぎょうしゃ) の者(もの) が上映(じょうえい) 時間(じかん) キリキリまで解体(かいたい) 作業(さぎょう) 準備(じゅんび) をしとったから…」“Sorry about that... The contractor's crew was rushing to get the dismantling ready right up until showtime...” スタッフ: 「まったく… 明日(あした) まで待(ま) ってくれればいいものを…」“Honestly... They could've at least waited until tomorrow...” Challenge Yourself Show translation
Challenge
Why were ropes and other materials lying around the theater? Clues 解体(かいたい) 作業(さぎょう) の準備(じゅんび) preparations for demolition work 上映(じょうえい) 時間(じかん) キリキリまでright up until showtime What does the speaker mean? Contractors had been preparing to demolish the theater until showtime. The owner connects the materials to last-minute preparations for 解体(かいたい) 作業(さぎょう) . The staff had decorated the theater for a festival. The materials belonged to demolition preparations, not decorations. The audience brought ropes for the final screening. The owner says the contractor's crew left them during its work. Workers had finished rebuilding the theater. 解体(かいたい) means dismantling or demolition, not reconstruction. The ropes were clues deliberately planted by Conan. Conan notices them and then learns their practical source from the owner. The staff planned to move the screening outside. The issue is demolition work being prepared too close to the screening time.
The contractor’s crew had been preparing the theater for demolition right up until showtime. That work explains the ropes and other materials left inside.
View Full Example 操作 (Operation)
操作(そうさ) means operating or controlling a machine or system, or manipulating information.
It combines 操 (control ) with 作 (do ) to show doing something through directed control .
Kanji Explanation: Making and creating things with 作 (Future entry)
あずまんが大王 » Volume 1年生 » Page 31Chiyo is a child prodigy who’s skipped from elementary school to high school.
Chiyo’s new school has a computer class, but she’s never used a computer before.
ちよ: 「これは？」“What's this?” よみ: 「マウス それを使(つか) って操作(そうさ) “A mouse. You use that to control it.” View Full Example Production 作成 (Creation)
作成(さくせい) means creating or preparing something (such as a document or data) in a finished, usable form.
It combines 作 (make ) with 成 (accomplish ) to show making something into a finished form .
Kanji Explanation: Becoming and accomplishing with 成 (Future entry)
魔法騎士レイアース » Volume 1 » Page 47Fuu finds herself spirited away to another world, along with two other girls. A wizard appears before them, saying they cannot return home until they accomplish a specific goal.
風(ふう) :「困(こま) りましたわ。 わたし 先生(せんせい) に提出(ていしゅつ) するレポート作成(さくせい) 残(のこ) ってますのに」“Oh dear. I've still got to write that report to hand in to the teacher...” 海(うみ) :「もう 戻(もど) れないならレポートの心配(しんぱい) なんてしなくていいんじゃないの？」“If we can't go back anyway, isn't there no point worrying about the report?” Challenge Yourself Show translation
Challenge
Why does Umi say Fuu does not need to worry about her unfinished report? Clues 先生(せんせい) に提出(ていしゅつ) するレポート作成(さくせい) が残(のこ) ってますのにFuu still has a report to finish and submit to her teacher もう戻(もど) れないなら Umi treats being unable to return home as the condition What does the speaker mean? If they cannot return home, Fuu cannot submit it to her teacher. 戻れないなら sets up the possibility that they cannot go home. The report is meant for Fuu's teacher, so she would have no way to submit it. The wizard has agreed to finish the report for Fuu. Umi does not mention the wizard doing the work. Her point depends on whether they can return home. Fuu's teacher has canceled the assignment. Fuu says the report remains unfinished. Nothing in either line says the teacher canceled it. 作成 shows that Fuu has already completed the report. 作成が残ってます means the work of preparing the report still remains. It is not complete. Umi plans to return alone and submit the report for Fuu. 戻れない refers to their inability to go back. Umi does not offer to deliver the report herself. The report matters only if Fuu becomes a mage. Umi links the report to returning home, not to whether Fuu becomes a mage.
Fuu is worried because she still has to finish a report for her teacher. Umi reasons that if they cannot return home, Fuu cannot submit it anyway, so worrying about it serves no purpose.
View Full Example Strategy 作戦 (Strategy)
作戦(さくせん) means a plan for carrying out an operation. It often refers to military strategy, but it also works for everyday plans and schemes.
It combines 作 (make ) with 戦 (battle ) to show a plan made for battle .
Grammar Explanation: Sometimes with 〜ことがある (Future entry)
三ツ星カラーズ » Volume 8 » Page 107Sacchan and Kotoha notice Yui walking with a couple of her friends from school. The two decide to sneak and follow after them. Sacchan notices Yui doesn’t act quite the same with these friends as she does with Sacchan and Kotoha.
さっちゃん: 「潜入(せんにゅう) 作戦(さくせん) 別人(べつじん) になりきることがあるかもしれないから」“Maybe it's because she's in an undercover operation or something that she sometimes pretends to be a different person....”「学校(がっこう) の時(とき) の結衣(ゆい) は結衣(ゆい) らしさを消(け) してすごしてるのかもしれない」“...that Yui at school might be trying to hide her true self.” Challenge Yourself Show translation
Challenge
What explanation does Sacchan invent for Yui acting differently at school? Clues 潜入(せんにゅう) 作戦(さくせん) とかで別人(べつじん) になりきることがあるかもしれないperhaps she sometimes fully plays another person for an infiltration mission 結衣(ゆい) らしさを消(け) してすごしてるのかもしれないperhaps she spends school time hiding what makes her Yui What does the speaker mean? Yui may be playing a different person as part of an undercover mission. 潜入(せんにゅう) 作戦(さくせん) names an infiltration mission, and 別人(べつじん) になりきる describes fully taking on another persona. Yui has forgotten how she normally acts around Sacchan. Sacchan speculates that Yui is deliberately hiding her usual self, not that she has forgotten it. Yui's school friends are pretending to be different people. Yui is the implied subject of 別人(べつじん) になりきる and the named subject of the next line. Yui is secretly investigating Sacchan and Kotoha. The imagined mission explains Yui's behavior at school. The line does not name Sacchan and Kotoha as targets. Yui behaves differently because school rules require it. Sacchan mentions a possible mission, not a school rule. Yui is preparing to leave school and become someone else. 〜ことがある describes something that may happen on some occasions, not a plan to leave permanently.
Sacchan imagines that Yui sometimes plays a different person for an undercover mission. In that theory, Yui hides her usual personality while she is at school.
View Full Example 
