作

作 (Kangxi radical 9, 人+5, 7 strokes, cangjie input 人竹尸 (OHS) or 人人尸 (OOS), four-corner 2821₁, composition ⿰亻乍)

• 𠴚, 𢌣, 𢭢, 𭦎, 𭪌, 𣨐, 𤉔, 𨓕, 𮀟, 𬆖, 𧚙, 𭫇, 𧧻, 𮚈, 𧼄, 𨁔, 𬫛, 𪯕, 𫸋, 𫯧, 宱, 莋, 𤶙, 筰, 𨴰, 𭁀, 㤰

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 99, character 7
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 518
• Dae Jaweon: page 210, character 1
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 134, character 6
• Unihan data for U+4F5C

Historical forms of the character 作
Shang	Western Zhou	Warring States	Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)	Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Oracle bone script	Bronze inscriptions	Chu slip and silk script	Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts
Oracle bone script j19019 Bronze inscriptions b12327 b12328 b12329 b12330 b12331 Small seal script s05788 Transcribed ancient scripts L37977 L37978 L37979 L37980 L37981 L27237 L27238 L27239 L27240 L27241 L27242 L27243 L27244
References: Mostly from Richard Sears' Chinese Etymology site (authorisation), which in turn draws data from various collections of ancient forms of Chinese characters, including: Shuowen Jiezi (small seal), Jinwen Bian (bronze inscriptions), Liushutong (Liushutong characters) and Yinxu Jiaguwen Bian (oracle bone script).

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ʔsaːɡs, *ʔsaːɡs, *ʔsaːɡ) : semantic 亻 (“man”) + phonetic 乍 (OC *zraːɡs).

Derivative: 做 (“to do”) (the departing-tone variant).

作

1. ^† to get up (from a place)
2. ^† to get up (in the morning) and go to work
3. ^† to begin to grow; to come into being
4. ^† to arise; to come about; to happen; to occur; to break out
5. to do; to perform; to carry out

   你在作什麼？／你在作什么？  ―  Nǐ zài zuò shénme?  ―  What are you doing?

6. to work; to exert oneself
7. to make; to manufacture
8. to compose; to write

   作者  ―  zuòzhě  ―  author

   你作緊乜嘢呀？ [Guangzhou Cantonese, trad.]
   你作紧乜嘢呀？ [Guangzhou Cantonese, simp.]

   nei⁵ zok³ gan² mat¹ je⁵ aa³? [Jyutping]

   What are you writing?

9. ^† to brace oneself; to boost
10. ^† to feign; to pretend
11. to work as; to serve as
12. ^† to build; to construct
13. ^† to play; to perform
14. ^† to emit; to give out
15. ^† to start; to launch
16. ^† to be like; similar
17. ^† Alternative form of 詛／诅 (zǔ, “to curse; to damn”)
18. work; composition; article
19. ^† affair; matter
20. ^† measure; action
21. (Hokkien) to farm; to plow; to till

• (to do):

• (to farm):

作

1. workshop; studio; workroom
2. (neologism, originally dialectal) contrived; artificial; affected; pretentious; dramatic; high-maintenance

• “作”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎, 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–

(grade 2 “Kyōiku” kanji)

• Go-on: さく (saku, Jōyō); さ (sa, Jōyō)
• Kan-on: さく (saku, Jōyō); さ (sa, Jōyō)
• Tō-on: そ (so)
• Kun: つくる (tsukuru, 作る, Jōyō); つくり (tsukuri, 作り); つくり (tsukuri, 作); なす (nasu, 作す)
• Nanori: くり (kuri); さか (saka); づくり (zukuri); とも (tomo); なお (nao); はぎ (hagi); まさか (masaka)

• 抜け作

From Middle Chinese 作 (tsak, “to do, to work”). Compare Cantonese 作 (zok³), Wu 作 (⁷tsoq).

• (Tokyo) さ​く [sáꜜkù] (Atamadaka – [1])[1]
• IPA^(key): [sa̠kɯ̟ᵝ]

作(さく) • (saku) 

1. a work, a production (particularly a cultural work, such as a work of art, of literature, or of theatre)

• (Tokyo) さく [sàkú] (Heiban – [0])[1]
• IPA^(key): [sa̠kɯ̟ᵝ]

作(さく) • (saku) 

1. a crop, a harvest

The 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “continuative or stem form”) of verb 作る (tsukuru, “to make; to build; to work the land, to grow something”), itself from Old Japanese.[2]

• (Tokyo) つくり​ [tsùkúríꜜ] (Odaka – [3])[1]
• IPA^(key): [t͡sɨᵝkɯ̟ᵝɾʲi]

作(つくり) • (tsukuri) 

1. the workmanship or make of something, how something is made

   作(つく)りのいい家具(かぐ)

   tsukuri no ii kagu

   furniture of good make or workmanship, well-made furniture

2. make-up, dress, comportment: how one dresses and comports oneself

   派手(はで)な作(つく)りは嫌(きら)いだ。

   Hade na tsukuri wa kirai da.

   I dislike colorful / flashy dress.

3. a helping or serving of fresh sashimi, usually several slices

   鮭(しゃけ)の作(つく)りを楽(たの)しみにしている。

   Shake no tsukuri o tanoshimi ni shite iru.

   I'm looking forward to a helping of salmon sashimi.

More often spelled with the okurigana, as 作り.

• IPA^(key): [d͡zɨᵝkɯ̟ᵝɾʲi]

• The -tsukuri changes to -zukuri as an instance of rendaku (連濁).

作(づくり) • (-zukuri) 

1. the making of something, particularly as in cultivation

   庭(にわ)作(づく)り、バラ作(づく)り

   niwazukuri, barazukuri

   gardening / garden cultivation, rose cultivation / growing roses

More often spelled with the okurigana, as 作り.

From Middle Chinese 作 (MC tsak). Recorded as Middle Korean 작 (cak) (Yale: cak) in Sinjeung Yuhap (新增類合 / 신증유합), 1576.

Wikisource 作 (eumhun 지을 작 (jieul jak))

1. Hanja form^? of 작 (“composition”).

Related to Middle Chinese 做 (MC tsaH).

作 (eumhun 만들 주 (mandeul ju))
作 (eumhun 만들 자 (mandeul ja))

1. (literary Chinese) Alternative form of 做 (“Hanja form^? of 주/자 (“to make”).”)

Related to Middle Chinese 詛 (MC tsrjoH).

作 (eumhun 저주할 저 (jeojuhal jeo))

1. (literary Chinese) Alternative form of 詛 (“Hanja form^? of 저 (“to curse”). ”)

• 국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會 大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전／電子字典.

(grade 2 “Kyōiku” kanji)

• Kun: しこ゚ーるん (shikoorun, 作ーるん)

(grade 2 “Kyōiku” kanji)

• Kun: つぃふーㇲ゙ (tsïfūdz)

(grade 2 “Kyōiku” kanji)

• Kun: ちゅくゆん (chukuyun, 作ゆん)

作: Hán Việt readings: tác (即(tức)各(các)切(thiết))[1][2][3][4][5], tố[3]
作: Nôm readings: tác[1][2][3][4][6], sã[1]

1. chữ Hán form of tác (“to do; to perform; to carry out”).

(grade 2 “Kyōiku” kanji)

• Kun: つぃくるん (tsïkurun, 作るん)