作 (zuò) is a Chinese character meaning “to do”. It is written from 亻 (person (the form 人 takes on the left)) and 乍 (suddenly; abruptly (also the sound part in 作, 昨, 炸)), side by side, and takes 7 strokes.
Build the character for “to do; to make”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
亻 + 乍
Left–right structure
- 亻 person (the form 人 takes on the left) · rén meaning
- 乍 suddenly; abruptly (also the sound part in 作, 昨, 炸) · zhà sound
Structure from: 现代字形构形分析（笔画数据核验：⿰亻乍，2+5=7 画）；只描述今形，不追溯古字来源
Memory aid
亻 is a person, standing on the left. 乍 on the right is the sound part — but the two readings have drifted apart (乍 is zhà, 作 is zuò), so it will not hand you the pronunciation. Picture a person 亻 who 乍 — suddenly — gets up and starts doing something: 作, to do, to make.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
7 strokes
In real words
- 工作gōng zuòwork; job作 = zuò
- 作业zuò yèhomework; assignment作 = zuò
- 作者zuò zhěauthor; writer作 = zuòHSK 4
- 佳作jiā zuòan excellent piece of work作 = zuò
- 制作zhì zuòto make; to produce作 = zuò
- 合作hé zuòto cooperate; to work together作 = zuò
- 杰作jié zuòmasterpiece作 = zuò
- 作品zuò pǐnwork (of art or literature); piece作 = zuò
- 作祟zuò suìto haunt; to make mischief; to be the hidden cause of trouble作 = zuò
- 副作用fù zuò yòngside effect作 = zuò
Go deeper
All readings
to do; to make
to do; to make; to write or compose; to act as; work (in compounds)
进行某种活动；制造、写作；也指劳动或作品。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 工作gōng zuòwork; job作 = zuò
- 作业zuò yèhomework; assignment作 = zuò
- 作者zuò zhěauthor; writer作 = zuòHSK 4
- 佳作jiā zuòan excellent piece of work作 = zuò
- 制作zhì zuòto make; to produce作 = zuò
- 合作hé zuòto cooperate; to work together作 = zuò
- 杰作jié zuòmasterpiece作 = zuò
- 作品zuò pǐnwork (of art or literature); piece作 = zuò
- 作祟zuò suìto haunt; to make mischief; to be the hidden cause of trouble作 = zuò
- 副作用fù zuò yòngside effect作 = zuò
Sound component
乍 family diverged
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 作 mean?
作 (zuò) means to do; to make; to write or compose; to act as; work (in compounds).
How do you pronounce 作?
It is pronounced zuò.
What parts is 作 made of?
亻 (person (the form 人 takes on the left)) and 乍 (suddenly; abruptly (also the sound part in 作, 昨, 炸)), side by side. The recorded source is: 现代字形构形分析（笔画数据核验：⿰亻乍，2+5=7 画）；只描述今形，不追溯古字来源. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 作 have?
7. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 作?
亻. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 作?
Common ones are 工作 and 作业. The reading of 作 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.