<p>Flake has a really good answer, but I thought I'd add a favorite example of mine.</p>

<p><strong>工作</strong> and <strong>做工</strong><br>
Having a job that you do is <strong>工作</strong> not very specific, rather abstract. You go somewhere to think thoughts and do things that makes the counter in your bank account go up once every month. A part of your identity; an occupation.</p>

<p>Carving a spoon out of a piece of wood, or creating a vase out of clay is <strong>做工</strong>. A highly tangible result of what you do with your hands.</p>

<p>Getting up in the morning and going to your 工作 could very well mean doing some 做工, but whereas one is high level and abstract, the other one is quite specific (and often relates to working with your hands).</p>

<p>These two differences apply to the usage of 作 and 做 in other contexts as well.<br>
So, just as Flake says, 作ing a piece of music isn't so much the actual writing notes on a paper; it is more about hearing the different instruments harmonize, the beat, the melody etc.</p>

<p>做ing a vase out of clay means actually shaping a lump of dirt into somehing that holds flowers in a pretty way.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-01-02T09:51:58.827Z
2012-01-02T09:51:58.827Z
Lars Andren
<p>As an extension to Flake's answer:</p>

<p>做 in most cases do not involve creative activity, in another word, usually do not involve mind work. As in 做工(work), 做饭(cook).
作 in most cases is something creative.As in 作曲(compose), 创作(write).</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-10-15T14:50:20.217Z
So it is kind of like 'toil' vs 'perform' for 做 vs 作 ?
LegendLength
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-02-05T05:13:27.803Z
2016-02-05T05:13:27.803Z
xfx
<p>做 sometimes means actual action or acting</p>

<p>作 is for abstracted meanings</p>

<p>in fact even many native speakers are not very clear of that</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-11-26T05:52:41.040Z
2015-11-26T05:52:41.040Z
gcd0318
<p>I have found a topic talking about these two words. It's realy complicated.
Url is here: <a href="http://xh.5156edu.com/page/z9007m3693j18792.html" rel="nofollow">http://xh.5156edu.com/page/z9007m3693j18792.html</a>
Hard to translate all.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-09-23T07:46:06.110Z
Complicated, but credible.
George Chen
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-09-23T12:42:31.137Z
Can you summarize, or at least provide a few relevant points from the article, please? Link-only answers are subject to link-rot.
Mr. Shiny and New 安宇
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-09-23T07:34:05.017Z
2014-09-23T07:34:05.017Z
user6365
<p>做：The verb 'do'.
作：everything else.</p>

<p>As a professional user of Chinese for more than a quarter century I don't know what the character 作 mean independently. So you don't have to either.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-02-05T06:15:02.210Z
Yes,  作 is rarely used independently as a verb in modern Chinese. However, it's much more commonly used independently in ancient Chinese. Example: 舍瑟而作。——《论语·先进》(Confucian Analects - Book XI: Hsien Tsin)（See ref: http://www.cnculture.net/ebook/jing/sishu/lunyu_en/11.html）Here, 作 means 挺身直跪 -- straight up body while knee sitting. It's a verb here. Another one proverb, which is still commonly used today, is "日出而作,日入而息" (《乐府诗集》) -- wake up and work when the sun arises, lay down and rest when the sun sets (rough translation).
Wang Zong'an
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-09-23T05:49:35.633Z
2014-09-23T05:49:35.633Z
tactoth
<p>I could be totally off-base on this, because my Chinese experience is colloquial Cantonese in Hong Kong, but here's my $0.02.  Generally from my experience, 作 is used in situations where you're doing something that has an end and an output, such as the Cantonese phrase 作准备.  做 seems to be used for things that are more ongoing, such as 做工作.  Please somebody come along and correct me if this is wrong, because I'd like to know the answer to this as well.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-07-11T10:02:15.910Z
from my experience, 做 is corresponding to "make" and "do", just like you said: with no remarkable end-product, and 作 is corresponding to "compose(作曲)"  "purposefully used as(名词用作动词)" "commit(作恶)" I have to stress, however, in my chinese Pinyin IME, when I type zuo zhun bei, **i get "做准备"** rather than "作准备"...
pimgeek
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-12-13T21:12:54.263Z
2011-12-13T21:12:54.263Z
Zann Anderson
<ol>
<li>做 (pinyin: zuò)</li>
</ol>

<p>做 (pinyin: zuò) can only be used as a verb. Its meanings include:</p>

<p>1). create; make</p>

<p>e.g.: 做衣服(zuò yī fú, means “make clothes”); 这把凳子是塑料做的(zhè bǎ dèng zǐ shì sù liào zuò de, means “this chair is made of plastic”)。</p>

<p>2). pretend</p>

<p>e.g.: 做样子(zuò yàng zǐ)</p>

<p>3). to have relationship with somebody</p>

<p>e.g.: 做朋友(zuò péng yǒu, means “become friends”)</p>

<p>4). used as…</p>

<p>e.g.: 这块木板可以做椅子(zhè kuài mù bǎn kě yǐ zuò yǐ zǐ, means “this board can be used as a chair”)</p>

<p>5). to be…</p>

<p>e.g.: 做演员(zuò yǎn yuán, means “to be an actor”)</p>

<ol start="2">
<li>作</li>
</ol>

<p>Except for verb, 作 can be used as a noun as well.</p>

<p>1). as a verb.</p>

<p>作 comprises lots of meaning when being a verb, such as “write” in 写作, “bestir” in 振作, etc.</p>

<p>2). as a noun (pinyin:zuò).</p>

<p>As a noun, 作 mainly refers to works such as 作品、作业、杰作、著作, and career such as 工作.</p>

<p>3). as a noun (pinyin:zuō).</p>

<p>Under this condition, 作 is different from 作 above. It pronoounces zuō and only used in “作坊”. Except for 作坊, all 作 pronounce zuò.</p>

<ol start="3">
<li>Differences between 作 and 做</li>
</ol>

<p>When speaking of the differences between 作 and 做, it primarily lies in when they are used as a verb. The differences can be summerized as three points.</p>

<p>1). 做 is usually used to refer to something specific which you can see or touch such as 做衣服 and 做作业, while 作 is to describe something abstract like 作弊, 作曲, 作孽.</p>

<p>2). The objects following 做 tends to be neutral, like 做衣服, 做梦, 做东, while 作 usually describes something negative like 作弊 and 作假.</p>

<p>3). 做 can be only used as a verb, while 作 can be used as a verb as well as a noun.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-01-31T06:20:42.783Z
2018-01-31T06:20:42.783Z
Lily Chan
<p>Translation of the text &lt;<a href="http://xh.5156edu.com/page/z9007m3693j18792.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://xh.5156edu.com/page/z9007m3693j18792.html</a>> (above): (translator's notes in <code>(())</code>)</p>

<blockquote>
  <ol start="4">
  <li>&lt;作> and &lt;做> 可以 interchangeably use.</li>
  </ol>
  
  <p>(1) "用做"之义, "作" and "做" are generally interchangeable. 《Modern Chinese Dictionary》 (Year 2005; 6th print) lets "做"-word meaning-⑥ be solved ((explain)) as "当做", 并 gives-example: "treeskin ((bark)) 可以～((做)) paper-making 的 material|this 篇 essay 可以～((做)) teaching-resource。" uses-that-which-is "做". 而《Term Ocean》"满江红"词条: "plants 名……全草可作 fishes and domestic-animals 的  feed-material……" uses-that-which-is "作". 做抵押、做纪念等，also 可 use "作". But those of "副词((adverb))作状语((作 adverb clause))", by convention, use "作" and not "做".</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Alternative translation: (translator's notes in <code>(())</code>)</p>

<blockquote>
  <ol start="4">
  <li>&lt;作> and &lt;做> can be used interchangeably.</li>
  </ol>
  
  <p>(1) "用做" (("use as")) and "用作" (("use as")) are generally interchangeable. Xiandai Hanyu Cidian (2005; 6th edition):</p>
  
  <blockquote>
    <p>&lt;做> (6th meaning) = &lt;当做> (("treated as"))</p>
  </blockquote>
  
  <p>illustrating it with:</p>
  
  <blockquote>
    <p>&bull; &lt;Bark can be 做 ((treated)) as paper-making material.></p>
    
    <p>&bull; &lt;This essay can be 做 ((treated)) as teaching resource.></p>
  </blockquote>
  
  <p>Cihai (under entry &lt;满江红>) ((?)):</p>
  
  <blockquote>
    <p>&lt;Plants can be 作 ((use/treated)) as feed for fishes/livestock></p>
  </blockquote>
  
  <p>&lt;做纪念> ((do-commemorate)) ((commemorating)) can also be written with &lt;作>. But in &lt;adverb can be 作 as adverbial clause> etc, by convention &lt;作> is used, not &lt;做>.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>I'll translate some of the rest of the article with every 10 votes !</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-11-25T02:28:39.370Z
2018-11-25T03:22:13.113Z
2018-11-25T03:22:13.113Z
Pacerier
<p>Some real life examples to help identify the differences:</p>

<p>In general, "做" is almost always a verb that has some real meanings. It is very close to English word "do" in its verb form and "make". E.g. "Do your job!" = "做好你的工作!", "do nothing"="什么也不做", "make love" = "做爱", "make some cakes" = "做些蛋糕", etc.</p>

<p>For the word "作", in my personal opinion for now, acts as a function word (虚词) more often than having some real meanings. E.g. "作为" = "as/act as", "装作" = "pretend as". In these examples, it is really close to "as".</p>

<p>One of the most common "real meaning" usages of "作" is "compose": "作曲" = "compose a music", "创作" = "compose/create/write".</p>

<p>Another very common exception of "作" is the word "作文". It is a noun means "essay" or generally the "writing assignments" for students. Without checking it up, I don't even know what exactly "作" in "作文" means.</p>

<p>All in all, "做" is much more widely used as it is really similar as English "make" and "do".</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-11-27T21:44:22.050Z
It may be worth pointing out that 作文 can also be translated as "composition".
Brian Tung
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-01-02T09:41:20.140Z
Very nice and clear examples!
Lars Andren
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-12-13T23:05:48.340Z
2011-12-13T23:05:48.340Z
Flake
<p>做 and 作 are both translated as &quot;to do&quot; or &quot;to make.&quot;</p>
<p>How can I tell when I should use one or the other?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-11-26T14:35:01.160Z
让一些用户觉得很有意思的是＂汉语动词３８０例＂（华语教学出版社１９９９。１０♦ 着重分析对比近义动词间最易混淆之义项［clearly distinguishes the subtle differences between synonymous verbs］）没有任何关于＂做＂或＂作＂的条目。这一点似乎说明该两个动词在意义及用法上肯定不同.
user6065
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-01-31T19:02:28.203Z
It is actually confusing as well for Chinese primary school students who are native Mandarin speakers.
Weijun Zhou
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-03-04T11:10:09.867Z
There's also 干 of course.
hippietrail
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-12-21T19:18:07.383Z
@Mr.ShinyandNew安宇: yes it's mostly used as an adjective. However as with all live languages, you can use an adjective in many different ways, for example 你做作什么 or even 你做什么作 both use it as a verb.
Geoffrey Zheng
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-12-14T04:42:30.290Z
Look up the word 做作 if you want to get more confused :)
Geoffrey Zheng
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-12-14T12:57:38.767Z
@GeoffreyZheng: Awesome, is it an adjective? 那个人很做作 ?
Mr. Shiny and New 安宇
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-12-14T14:47:38.753Z
Make it even confusing: 做作业. ;)
Flake
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-12-15T14:25:03.087Z
@Flake That's not actually very confusing if you understand that 作业 should be taken together to mean *homework*
Yi Jiang 易江
<difference><synonyms>
What is the difference between 做 and 作?
# What is the difference between 做 and 作?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2011-12-13)

做 and 作 are both translated as "to do" or "to make."

How can I tell when I should use one or the other?

**Tags:** difference, synonyms
> **Comments:**
> **username_4**: Look up the word 做作 if you want to get more confused :)  
> **username_0**: @GeoffreyZheng: Awesome, is it an adjective? 那个人很做作 ?  
> **username_5**: Make it even confusing: 做作业. ;)  
> **username_6**: @Flake That's not actually very confusing if you understand that 作业 should be taken together to mean *homework*  
> **username_4**: @Mr.ShinyandNew安宇: yes it's mostly used as an adjective. However as with all live languages, you can use an adjective in many different ways, for example 你做作什么 or even 你做什么作 both use it as a verb.  
> **username_1**: 让一些用户觉得很有意思的是＂汉语动词３８０例＂（华语教学出版社１９９９。１０♦ 着重分析对比近义动词间最易混淆之义项［clearly distinguishes the subtle differences between synonymous verbs］）没有任何关于＂做＂或＂作＂的条目。这一点似乎说明该两个动词在意义及用法上肯定不同.  
> **username_2**: It is actually confusing as well for Chinese primary school students who are native Mandarin speakers.  
> **username_3**: There's also 干 of course.  

---

## 9 answers

### Answer by username_5 on 2011-12-13. Score: 47 | Accepted answer

Some real life examples to help identify the differences:

In general, "做" is almost always a verb that has some real meanings. It is very close to English word "do" in its verb form and "make". E.g. "Do your job!" = "做好你的工作!", "do nothing"="什么也不做", "make love" = "做爱", "make some cakes" = "做些蛋糕", etc.

For the word "作", in my personal opinion for now, acts as a function word (虚词) more often than having some real meanings. E.g. "作为" = "as/act as", "装作" = "pretend as". In these examples, it is really close to "as".

One of the most common "real meaning" usages of "作" is "compose": "作曲" = "compose a music", "创作" = "compose/create/write".

Another very common exception of "作" is the word "作文". It is a noun means "essay" or generally the "writing assignments" for students. Without checking it up, I don't even know what exactly "作" in "作文" means.

All in all, "做" is much more widely used as it is really similar as English "make" and "do".

> **Comments:**
> **username_7**: Very nice and clear examples!  
> **username_19**: It may be worth pointing out that 作文 can also be translated as "composition".  

---

### Answer by username_7 on 2012-01-02. Score: 19

Flake has a really good answer, but I thought I'd add a favorite example of mine.

**工作** and **做工**  
Having a job that you do is **工作** not very specific, rather abstract. You go somewhere to think thoughts and do things that makes the counter in your bank account go up once every month. A part of your identity; an occupation.

Carving a spoon out of a piece of wood, or creating a vase out of clay is **做工**. A highly tangible result of what you do with your hands.

Getting up in the morning and going to your 工作 could very well mean doing some 做工, but whereas one is high level and abstract, the other one is quite specific (and often relates to working with your hands).

These two differences apply to the usage of 作 and 做 in other contexts as well.  
So, just as Flake says, 作ing a piece of music isn't so much the actual writing notes on a paper; it is more about hearing the different instruments harmonize, the beat, the melody etc.

做ing a vase out of clay means actually shaping a lump of dirt into somehing that holds flowers in a pretty way.


---

### Answer by username_8 on 2016-02-05. Score: 7

As an extension to Flake's answer:

做 in most cases do not involve creative activity, in another word, usually do not involve mind work. As in 做工(work), 做饭(cook).
作 in most cases is something creative.As in 作曲(compose), 创作(write).

> **Comments:**
> **username_9**: So it is kind of like 'toil' vs 'perform' for 做 vs 作 ?  

---

### Answer by username_10 on 2015-11-26. Score: 6

做 sometimes means actual action or acting

作 is for abstracted meanings

in fact even many native speakers are not very clear of that


---

### Answer by username_11 on 2014-09-23. Score: 4

I have found a topic talking about these two words. It's realy complicated.
Url is here: <http://xh.5156edu.com/page/z9007m3693j18792.html>
Hard to translate all.

> **Comments:**
> **username_12**: Complicated, but credible.  
> **username_0**: Can you summarize, or at least provide a few relevant points from the article, please? Link-only answers are subject to link-rot.  

---

### Answer by username_13 on 2014-09-23. Score: 3

做：The verb 'do'.
作：everything else.

As a professional user of Chinese for more than a quarter century I don't know what the character 作 mean independently. So you don't have to either.

> **Comments:**
> **username_14**: Yes,  作 is rarely used independently as a verb in modern Chinese. However, it's much more commonly used independently in ancient Chinese. Example: 舍瑟而作。——《论语·先进》(Confucian Analects - Book XI: Hsien Tsin)（See ref: http://www.cnculture.net/ebook/jing/sishu/lunyu_en/11.html）Here, 作 means 挺身直跪 -- straight up body while knee sitting. It's a verb here. Another one proverb, which is still commonly used today, is "日出而作,日入而息" (《乐府诗集》) -- wake up and work when the sun arises, lay down and rest when the sun sets (rough translation).  

---

### Answer by username_15 on 2011-12-13. Score: 3

I could be totally off-base on this, because my Chinese experience is colloquial Cantonese in Hong Kong, but here's my $0.02. Generally from my experience, 作 is used in situations where you're doing something that has an end and an output, such as the Cantonese phrase 作准备. 做 seems to be used for things that are more ongoing, such as 做工作. Please somebody come along and correct me if this is wrong, because I'd like to know the answer to this as well.

> **Comments:**
> **username_16**: from my experience, 做 is corresponding to "make" and "do", just like you said: with no remarkable end-product, and 作 is corresponding to "compose(作曲)"  "purposefully used as(名词用作动词)" "commit(作恶)" I have to stress, however, in my chinese Pinyin IME, when I type zuo zhun bei, **i get "做准备"** rather than "作准备"...  

---

### Answer by username_17 on 2018-01-31. Score: 1

1. 做 (pinyin: zuò)

做 (pinyin: zuò) can only be used as a verb. Its meanings include:

1). create; make

e.g.: 做衣服(zuò yī fú, means “make clothes”); 这把凳子是塑料做的(zhè bǎ dèng zǐ shì sù liào zuò de, means “this chair is made of plastic”)。

2). pretend

e.g.: 做样子(zuò yàng zǐ)

3). to have relationship with somebody

e.g.: 做朋友(zuò péng yǒu, means “become friends”)

4). used as…

e.g.: 这块木板可以做椅子(zhè kuài mù bǎn kě yǐ zuò yǐ zǐ, means “this board can be used as a chair”)

5). to be…

e.g.: 做演员(zuò yǎn yuán, means “to be an actor”)

2. 作

Except for verb, 作 can be used as a noun as well.

1). as a verb.

作 comprises lots of meaning when being a verb, such as “write” in 写作, “bestir” in 振作, etc.

2). as a noun (pinyin:zuò).

As a noun, 作 mainly refers to works such as 作品、作业、杰作、著作, and career such as 工作.

3). as a noun (pinyin:zuō).

Under this condition, 作 is different from 作 above. It pronoounces zuō and only used in “作坊”. Except for 作坊, all 作 pronounce zuò.

3. Differences between 作 and 做

When speaking of the differences between 作 and 做, it primarily lies in when they are used as a verb. The differences can be summerized as three points.

1). 做 is usually used to refer to something specific which you can see or touch such as 做衣服 and 做作业, while 作 is to describe something abstract like 作弊, 作曲, 作孽.

2). The objects following 做 tends to be neutral, like 做衣服, 做梦, 做东, while 作 usually describes something negative like 作弊 and 作假.

3). 做 can be only used as a verb, while 作 can be used as a verb as well as a noun.


---

### Answer by username_18 on 2018-11-25. Score: 1

Translation of the text <<http://xh.5156edu.com/page/z9007m3693j18792.html>> (above): (translator's notes in `(())`)

> 4. <作> and <做> 可以 interchangeably use.
>
> (1) "用做"之义, "作" and "做" are generally interchangeable. 《Modern Chinese Dictionary》 (Year 2005; 6th print) lets "做"-word meaning-⑥ be solved ((explain)) as "当做", 并 gives-example: "treeskin ((bark)) 可以～((做)) paper-making 的 material|this 篇 essay 可以～((做)) teaching-resource。" uses-that-which-is "做". 而《Term Ocean》"满江红"词条: "plants 名……全草可作 fishes and domestic-animals 的 feed-material……" uses-that-which-is "作". 做抵押、做纪念等，also 可 use "作". But those of "副词((adverb))作状语((作 adverb clause))", by convention, use "作" and not "做".

Alternative translation: (translator's notes in `(())`)

> 4. <作> and <做> can be used interchangeably.
>
> (1) "用做" (("use as")) and "用作" (("use as")) are generally interchangeable. Xiandai Hanyu Cidian (2005; 6th edition):
>
> > <做> (6th meaning) = <当做> (("treated as"))
>
> illustrating it with:
>
> > •
> >
> > •
>
> Cihai (under entry <满江红>) ((?)):
>
>
>
> <做纪念> ((do-commemorate)) ((commemorating)) can also be written with <作>. But in  etc, by convention <作> is used, not <做>.

I'll translate some of the rest of the article with every 10 votes !


---

