ZHIZHI 知止 · LEARN CHINESE DAILY

to do / to make

zuò
11 strokes · 亻(person radical) + 故 · HSK 1

Where 做 comes from

做 = 亻(person) + 故. The person radical signals an action a human does. It's the everyday verb for 'to do' or 'to make' — building things, taking actions, performing roles.

做 in Chinese culture

做 is the workhorse 'do/make': 做饭 (cook, 'make food'), 做事 (do tasks/work), 做人 (literally 'to be a person' — meaning how you conduct yourself morally; 会做人 = socially skilled). 做什么? = 'What are you doing? / What for?'. It overlaps with 作 (zuò, also 'do'); in modern usage 做 covers concrete making, 作 the more abstract/literary.

Example

做什么 zuò shénme — to do what / why

你在做什么?
Nǐ zài zuò shénme?
What are you doing?

How to remember it

A person (亻) taking action — to DO, to MAKE.

做人 literally means 'to make a person' — but it really means how you carry yourself as a human being. 会做人 ('good at being a person') is high praise for someone socially graceful.

Same sound, different tones

2nd zuó
yesterday
3rd zuǒ
left
4th zuò
to do

Words unlocked by 做

做什么 zuò shénme
do what / why
做人 zuòrén
to conduct oneself
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