The word 作品 is formed by combining two characters: 作, which carries the meaning of "to make" or "to create", and 品, which signifies an "item", "product", or "object of quality". Their union is conceptual, where the action of creation (作) is directly applied to its resulting artifact (品), thus forming a single term that denotes a "creative work" or "piece of art", such as a painting, novel, or sculpture. It is a direct compound where the first element modifies the second to specify the kind of object, one that is crafted or authored.