作る
tsu-ku-ru
In Japanese you make time, literally
The picture Hands go to work on material and a shape that wasn't there stands in its place. 作る brings something into being; 壊す breaks what stands until it is gone.
Where the picture shows up in 作る
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Ingredients become a dish
今晩はカレーを作ります。
konban wa karē o tsukuri-masu
I'll make curry tonight.
Vegetables and meat go into the pot, the spoon turns, and separate things become one bowl of curry.
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Material joined into a thing
この机は木で作りました。
kono tsukue wa ki de tsukuri-mashita
This desk was made out of wood.
Sawn boards are fitted, nails go in, and the legs of a desk stand up.
～で作る marks the material something is made out of.
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Brought into being on paper
銀行で新しい口座を作りたいです。
ginkō de atarashii kōza o tsukuri-tai desu
I'd like to open a new account at the bank.
A name is written at the counter, a seal is pressed, and a passbook with your name on it is handed over.
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Prying open a gap
時間を作って病院に行きます。
jikan o tsukutte byōin ni iki-masu
I'll make time and go to the clinic.
Fingers push a packed shift chart apart until one empty slot opens in the middle.
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A tie that wasn't there
この工場で友達を作りました。
kono kōjō de tomodachi o tsukuri-mashita
I made a friend at this factory.
Two people share a lunch box side by side and a line appears between them where there was none.
All of it in one picture
作る is one picture: what wasn't there appears under your hands. Put vegetables and meat in the pot and curry exists; cut and join boards and a desk stands; fill in the form at the counter and an account exists; pry a gap open in a packed day and you have time; share lunch at the same plant and a friendship exists. Wherever the hands have been, something new is left behind.