# to make / to do



## vince

Hello all,

I'm wondering which languages have a make/do distinction.

Some languages have a single word that means both "to make" and "to do". For example, Spanish "hacer", French "faire", Mandarin 做 ("zuo").

Whereas some languages, like English, have two words. I think Cantonese also has this distinction, 做 ("zo") means "to do" while "zing" means "to make" (among other meanings).

Which languages have the make-do distinction?

I'm pretty sure all languages have some alternate words used to  emphasize the difference, e.g. French you can say "produire" (to produce) or "fabriquer" (to manufacture), or "créer" (to create) in order to indicate the "to make" meaning of "faire", but it doesn't count as a true make-do distinction because the core verb for to make/do is still a single verb.


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## macta123

In Hindi

To make (something) = Banana
To do (something) = Karna

 For eg.  Make some tea = Chai banao (as an order - imperative)
            Do your work = Kaam karo


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## Lemminkäinen

Norwegian Bokmål:

To make: å lage
To do: å gjøre

Norwegian Nynorsk:

To make: å lage
To do: å gjere


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## optimistique

Dutch:

to make = *maken*
to do = *doen*

So not very different


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## linguist786

macta123 said:
			
		

> In Hindi
> 
> To make (something) = Banana
> To do (something) = Karna
> 
> For eg. Make some tea = Chai banao (as an order - imperative)
> Do your work = Kaam karo


haha "Banana". so how do you say "to make a banana"? Banana banana? lol that does make sense doesn't it? although when on earth would you need to say that anyway? people can't make bananas, they grow themselves! moving on..

Gujarati:

to make - Banaaw-waanu
to do - Kar-waanu

similar to the hindi actually.


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## Mutichou

In German:
to do = *tun*
to make = *machen*.


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## badgrammar

In Turkish you have yapmak and etmek.  I think it would be:

etmek = to do 
yapmak = to make

but I'm not entirely sure!


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## Pivra

In Thai

To do= tam
Did, Done, to act = kratam
To make= phlit (ph= soft p)


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## elroy

Arabic: 

There are exceptions of course, but generally

to do = *فعل* (fa'ala)
to make = *صنع* (Sana'a)


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## chuff

In Romanian, the verb *a face* can mean both
but i know that Romanian has a distinction somewhere...


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## Brazilian dude

In Portuguese we have fazer for both do and make.

Brazilian dude


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## kamome

Italian, too, shows several "alternative" expressions, mostly similar to the ones you listed for your French samples, Vince...PRODURRE, REALIZZARE, CREARE and so on, actually to emphasize or precise a path of some DOING SOMETHING...but the main and wider spoken range, as you said, is totally coveder by the all-suitable FARE, and I myself wouldn't say these options are a real "distinction".
かもめ。


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## Whodunit

Mutichou said:
			
		

> In German:
> to do = *tun*
> to make = *machen*.


 
No, that's wrong. "to do" means "machen" or "tun", and "to make" is "herstellen".

to do homework - Hausaufgaben machen
to make a toy - ein Spielzeug herstellen

"tun" is often used as an auxiliary verb, colloquially, but it's rarely used in other cases.


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## Bienvenidos

I like whodunit's examples, so here they are in Farsi:

I do homework -* Muh korkhonagí míconum*
I make a toy *- Muh soman júrmíconum*

*Júrkudan *is to fix or to make.Thus,* Muh machina júrmíconum means* I fix the machine, not I make the machine

*Bien*


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## elroy

Whodunit said:
			
		

> No, that's wrong. "to do" means "machen" or "tun", and "to make" is "herstellen".
> 
> to do homework - Hausaufgaben machen
> to make a toy - ein Spielzeug herstellen
> 
> "tun" is often used as an auxiliary verb, colloquially, but it's rarely used in other cases.


 
I think "herstellen" is too specific a translation; it works only in specific situations (to mean "to make").  Obviously there are exceptions but in most cases "machen" works as a translation of "to make."  Just look at the etymological similarity between the two words!


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## vince

herstellen doesn't count as "to make" because it's too specific. Otherwise every language has a make/do distinction. Spanish has crear/producir/realizar, French has créer/produire/realiser, etc. But these words mean "to create"/ "to produce" / "to achieve/realize"

If someone asked you how to say "to make" in German, you would probably answer "machen" right away, not herstellen.

The fact that you can say Hausaufgaben machen proves that German doesn't have a make/do distinction. How can you "make" homework?

Etymological similarity sometimes doesn't work, as word meanings can change. e.g. the ancient word *_prendere_ means "to take" in French but "to capture/arrest" in Spanish.


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## Whodunit

elroy said:
			
		

> I think "herstellen" is too specific a translation; it works only in specific situations (to mean "to make").


 
Of course, but that means that we don't have a word that means "make". There are some situations in which you can translate "make" and "machen", but in many you can't - and vice versa.



> Obviously there are exceptions but in most cases "machen" works as a translation of "to make."


 
I'd rather say "machen" works as a perfect translation for "do". Just think of examples with "tun". Would you prefer "tun" or "machen" in writing? In spoken language, of course, we often use "tun", but not in situations in which you could use "machen" instead.

Moreover, the Arabic word "*fa3ala*" is always translated as "_machen_" to German, whereas I have never seen a dictionary that translates it as "to make" to English. They use "to do". And German dictionaries usually don't suggest "tun" for "fa3ala". 



> Just look at the etymological similarity between the two words!


 
That's irrelevant. Etymological similarity doesn't mean that the words have the same meaning. "actual" and "aktuell" are totally different in meaning, for instance.


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## optimistique

Bienvenidos said:
			
		

> I like whodunit's examples:
> 
> I do homework



Well, in Dutch this gets tricky. _To make_ is certainly '*maken*' and _to do_ is certainly '*doen'*. But:

_To do your homework_ = *Je huiswerk maken


*In Dutch the translations are often the other way around in expressions.
How do you do? - Hoe maakt u het?


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## Brazilian dude

I can think of another one in Dutch:

This doesn't have anything to do with that.
Dit heeft niets te maken met dat.

Brazilian dude


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## Encolpius

Hungarian: we do have two verbs

do > tesz
make > csinál


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## apmoy70

Add Greek among Spanish, French, and Mandarin. In Greek, both _to do_ & _to make_ are translated as *«κά(μ)νω» ['ka(m)no]* < Classical v. *«κάμνω» kámnō* --> _to work, wrought_
E.g 
_It has nothing *to do* with.._ --> «Δεν έχει τίποτα *να κάνει* με..»
_*I'm making* some changes in my life_ --> «*Κάνω* κάποιες αλλαγές στη ζωή μου» 
Also, depending on context, we can use different verbs for each action.


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## arielipi

Hebrew has interchangeable verb(s) for it.

make: ליצור, לברוא litzor (=make from materials, or from mind for art), livro (=create as in god create). and many more specific make verbs.

do: לעשות la'asot - general do, can be replaced by any of the specific make verbs.


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## Gavril

apmoy70 said:


> Add Greek among Spanish, French, and Mandarin. In Greek, both _to do_ & _to make_ are translated as *«κά(μ)νω» ['ka(m)no]* < Classical v. *«κάμνω» kámnō* --> _to work, wrought_
> E.g
> _It has nothing *to do* with.._ --> «Δεν έχει τίποτα *να κάνει* με..»
> _*I'm making* some changes in my life_ --> «*Κάνω* κάποιες αλλαγές στη ζωή μου»
> Also, depending on context, we can use different verbs for each action.



In Ancient Greek, wasn't the verb _*práttein *_(the basis of _practice, pragmatic, _etc.) used in the sense of English "do" rather than "make"?

I think the verb *poieîn *(as in _onomato*poeia*_, etc.) could mean both "make" and "do", but was it the most common verb for the latter meaning?


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## aruniyan

*To make* -  _*Pannu*_ (comes from the word _*Pani*_(work), which comes from the sense working under some, to accept what others say/order(Paninthu). The Hindi word _banana_ also could be this origin.

*To do* - _*Sei *_(older word also could mean 'to make')


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## mataripis

to make in Tagalog is "Gawain" while to do can be " gampanan" in some cases.1.) Make a small furniture out of these native materials. (Gumawa ng gamit pang pahay mula sa mga kagamitang Sibol (o taal sa atin). 2.) Can you do what they did.? (magagampanan mo ba ang nagawa nila?)


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## apmoy70

Gavril said:


> In Ancient Greek, wasn't the verb _*práttein *_(the basis of _practice, pragmatic, _etc.) used in the sense of English "do" rather than "make"?


Yes indeed it was used as the English do, e.g:
«Ἄριστα *πράττει*»
S/he's doing it right


Gavril said:


> I think the verb *poieîn *(as in _onomato*poeia*_, etc.) could mean both "make" and "do", but was it the most common verb for the latter meaning?


Indeed the verb *«ποιέω/ποιῶ» pœéō (uncontracted)/pœô (contracted)* means both general senses, make and do, e.g:
«ἀπὸ ξύλων ποεῖν» --> _to make (something) of wood_
«ποιεῖν Σπαρτιατικά» --> _doing it the Spartan way_.
Τhe use of the suffix «-ποιῶ» demonstrates ΙΜΗΟ that the meaning of making, prevails over doing:
«Τελειο*ποιῶ*» --> To make something perfect
«*Ποιη*τής» --> Poet (the maker)
«*Ποιήσωμεν* ἄνθρωπον» (LXX) --> _Let us make man_ (Gen. 1:26 NKJV)


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## tFighterPilot

arielipi said:


> Hebrew has interchangeable verb(s) for it.
> 
> make: ליצור, לברוא litzor (=make from materials, or from mind for art), livro (=create as in god create). and many more specific make verbs.
> 
> do: לעשות la'asot - general do, can be replaced by any of the specific make verbs.


Also there's להכין lehakhin which can mean "To do" (I think only in regard to homework), "To make" (A soup, a bomb, etc) and "To prepare".


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## arielipi

^
all of which are under the "many more specific make verbs."


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## tFighterPilot

I think לברוא is much more specific, especially given the fact that it isn't used in modern Hebrew at all...


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## arielipi

^
same answer applies.


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## Red Arrow

[Moderator's Note: Merged with a previous thread]
Does your language make a difference between 'to make' and 'to do'?

In *Dutch* it's almost the same as in English.
*I'm making spaghetti. *- _Ik maak spaghetti._ (making = maken)
*I'm doing my job. *- _Ik doe mijn werk._ (doing = doen)

There is one exception, when you 'make' someone do something. Then we use _doen_, not _maken_.
*He's making me wash his car. *-_ Hij doet me zijn auto wassen._


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## 810senior

Japanese:

to do : sur-u(s-irregular verb)
to make : tsukur-u(regular verb)


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## Dymn

In Catalan, like all other Romance languages, there's only one verb: _fer_.


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## merquiades

Mutichou said:


> In German:
> to do = *tun*
> to make = *machen*.


As a German learner, I know these two verbs do exist, but it is not the same as in English. *Machen* seems to be used with both meanings and *tun* has some completely different meanings like to put.  Knowing the very clear and precise difference between the two verbs in English actually makes German much more difficult and complex to figure out.


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## ger4

merquiades said:


> *Machen* seems to be used with both meanings and *tun* has some completely different meanings like to put.


Yes, they seem to be used very differently in both languages. The explanations in #13 and #17 are perhaps helpful as a rule of thumb but on the other hand there are still many exceptions. These are just some examples:


Spoiler: English 'do' = German 'tun'



I didn't have anything else to do = _Ich hatte nichts anderes zu tun_
A has nothing to do with B = _A hat nichts mit B zu tun_
to do someone a favour = _jemandem einen Gefallen tun_





Spoiler: English 'do' = German 'tun' or 'machen'



We can't do anything about it ~ _Da können wir nichts (tun)/machen_
I'll do that straight away = _Das tu'/mach' ich sofort_





Spoiler: English 'do' = German 'machen'



He is doing his homework = _Er macht seine Hausaufgaben_
What do you do (for a living)? = _Was machen Sie (beruflich)?_
To do overtime = _Überstunden machen_
Nothing to be done about it ~ _Da kann man nichts machen_





Spoiler: English 'make' = German 'machen'



to make room = _Platz machen_





Spoiler: English: 'make' - German: a different (more specific) verb



This would probably be the largest category; just one example:
They used to make excellent cars = _Sie haben früher ausgezeichnete Fahrzeuge hergestellt_


Even Dutch and German often seem to differ: 'A has nothing to *do* with B' in Dutch would be _A heeft niets te *maken* met B_ (correct me if I'm wrong) but in German _A hat nichts zu *tun* mit B_. Quite confusing...


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## merquiades

Holger2014 said:


> Yes, they seem to be used very differently in both languages. The explanations in #13 and #17 are perhaps helpful as a rule of thumb but on the other hand there are still many exceptions. These are just some examples:
> Even Dutch and German often seem to differ: 'A has nothing to *do* with B' in Dutch would be _A heeft niets te *maken* met B_ (correct me if I'm wrong) but in German _A hat nichts zu *tun* mit B_. Quite confusing...


  Thank you for all the information Holger.  It's mighty confusing.


Spoiler: more machen/ tun information



For another machen/tun explanation in French. Again the uses almost never seem to parallel English.  _Tun_ has more uses that are the same as _put_ in English, _machen_ is more in line with _do_.
My summary
Machen = produce (make); cause (make); organize, repair, tidy (do); clean (do); calculate (make); bring about (make).
Tun= work, accomplish (do); place, position, set (put); set it, mix in (put); function, work (do); hurt someone, harm (do); to have something/anything/nothing to do; pretend, play (put on).


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## Gavril

We can add Armenian to the list of languages in which the meanings are expressed by the same verb: անել (_anel_) means both "make" and "do".


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## Dib

macta123 said:


> In Hindi
> 
> To make (something) = Banana
> To do (something) = Karna
> 
> For eg.  Make some tea = Chai banao (as an order - imperative)
> Do your work = Kaam karo





linguist786 said:


> Gujarati:
> 
> to make - Banaaw-waanu
> to do - Kar-waanu
> 
> similar to the hindi actually.



Bengali:
As a related language, Bengali also possesses the same distinction, using the same two verbs (bana- to make; kɔr- to do), but the usage differs a bit.

Make (some) tea = cha kɔro
Do (your) work = kaj kɔro

Make a toy = khælna banao


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## 123xyz

Macedonian:

*прави/направи* - do, make
*стори* - only "do", but it's a pretty formal word, so in more colloquial conversations, the distinction is usually not made - one relies on the imprecise "прави"


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