TSUMUGU · TOCFL 1 (est.) · 字
作
作 ＝ 亻 ＋ 乍
ㄗㄨㄛˋ · zuò
verb — to do, make; to write
字源 FORM — what the parts do
亻義a person, at work
乍聲zhà — gives the sound; itself the old graph for making
{z,c,s}↔{zh,ch,sh}IFzhà → zuò — the {zh,ch,sh}↔{z,c,s} crossing; the final shifts too; the same 乍 reads zuó in 昨
A person (亻) making something. 乍 once wrote to make all by itself; after it wandered off to mean "suddenly," a person was added to keep the maker on the page. 乍 zhà still gives the sound.
故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by
有人（亻）蹲在那裡，手沒停過——東西一件一件做出來。
Someone (亻) crouched there, hands never stopping — things made one by one.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
(本義)製作、工作— to make; to work常用
→寫作、作品— to compose; the works made
→當作、作為— to act as, take as
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension