# 做 / 作



## Gaeza

大家好!

Could someone please explain to me the difference between these two? Is there any difference in meaning or just some kind of traditionalism in retaining two 汉字 for the same idea in the written language?


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## palomnik

I believe that they're just variant characters for the same word, a phenomenon that is not very common but not unknown. 作 is the standard accepted simplified variant in modern Chinese but that doesn't mean that it's a "simplified" character; as far as I know it's been around a long time. But let's see what the native speakers have to say.


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## Rallada

Good question, I don't have a definitive answer. But when I use the character "作", I tend to associate it to something more artistic and intangible while I associate "做"  with something more  practical and tangible.

For example,

作 =>  to write (usually a book/essay/poem) 
i.e. 
作詩 => to write a poem
作文 => to write an essay (or as a noun, an essay)

作 => to be/become
i.e.
作牛作馬 => to be a slave (literally means to be a cow[buffalo] and horse)

Other usages
作風 => manner, behaviour.
作為 => behaviour/actions.
作用 => effect

As for 做, here are a few examples
做 => to be/become (by take responsibility of a role)
i.e.
做伴 => to keep company (literally means to become a partner)
做官 => to become an official
做(主/東) => to become the (leader/host)

做 => to do
i.e.
做工 => to do work or to work
做事 => to do things

做 => to make
i.e.
做蛋糕 => to make a cake
做飯 => to make rice (generally means to cook)

It tends to have a more negative sense when linked to poetic words.
做文章 => to exaggerate
做戲 => to act (meaning to lie via acting)

Although there are times when the 2 do crosses, for example
做法 <=>  作法 (both means method, but the latter could also mean the structure of the essay)

Hope it helps


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## unanimism

做
1.to make; to produce
2.to do; to work; to engage in
3.to become
4.to give (a party, reception, etc.)
作
1.to get up; to rise
2.to make; to do
3.to write; to compose
4.writings; work
5.to pretend; to affect
6.to regard as; to treat as; to take...for
7.to act; to be


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## Gaeza

Thanks a lot for the replies!


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## Wobby

Hi! I noticed that you are both from traditional character using regions (sorry if I'm making a wrong assumption!), and hence was wondering, referring back to *palomnik's *post about 作 being the "standard accepted simplified variant" whether the relative uses of 作 and 做 are still the convention in places that use simplified characters only?


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## Rallada

Hi, it is still in use, I normally write in simplified Chinese, but I didn't set it to input the simplified character this time.


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## Wobby

Ah, OK then, thanks (谢谢)!


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## Senordineroman

大家 好！

My 中文 老师 always used to say, "Make a sentence" in Chinese, but she would use a different word than "做".  It was something like, "za4", or "ca"...
我 记不住。  Can someone help?


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## rubeking

I think it is 造句 _zao4 ju4_


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## BODYholic

Ruberking has given you the Chinese words and its meaning is *to construct sentence*.


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## about:blank

palomnik said:


> I believe that they're just variant characters for the same word, a phenomenon that is not very common but not unknown. 作 is the standard accepted simplified variant in modern Chinese but that doesn't mean that it's a "simplified" character; as far as I know it's been around a long time. But let's see what the native speakers have to say.


  You are completely wrong! They're two very different characters and are both in use. (althogh I can't tell the difference :S )


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## Senordineroman

我的中文水平是大学第二年的，and the only time I've seen 作 is in 工作 - that's it.  

Looking forward to seeing other contexts where it's used!!


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## avlee

Well, if they are used as verbs, then 做 is normally used more widely and casually comparing to 作. 作 is very often used to emphasize the action itself. It usually implies someone does something with extra effort or strong intention, etc. e.g. 作文,作诗,作秀,作词,作曲...
The other difference is that 作 can be used as a noun or preposition. e.g. 大作/作为...
That brings me another word: 做作. This word might help some people to better understand the differences between these two characters being used as verb.
In here, 做 is put in quite loosely to mean "do" as mentioned above. While 作 is derogated meaning 'airs and graces, overdo', as if doing things "with extra effort or strong intention" can very easily be regarded as showing off.


> But when I use the character "作", I tend to associate it to something more artistic and intangible while I associate "做" with something more practical and tangible.


I almost decided to vote for it. Then I thought of 作画,作图. Look like it associates with literacy more or less.
Hope this help a bit in answering your question.


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## about:blank

ChrisCashman said:


> 我的中文水平是大学第二年的，and the only time I've seen 作 is in 工作 - that's it.
> 
> Looking forward to seeing other contexts where it's used!!


Here are some examples I can think of at the moment:
这个词在这句话里起什么作用？
老师让我们写了一篇作文。
我作了一首诗给你。


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## Staarkali

For a foreigner to understand, I believe the best is to keep in mind characters are the "letters" or the "bricks" of words in Chinese. Therefore you must learn the spelling of a words if you want to write it;
In English also we do have the choice also; should we write a Chinese *character*, a Chinese *caracter*, a Chinese *karacter *or a Chinese *qaracter*? They all sound the same after all. It's just the same in Chinese. When you learn a word, you learn how to write it.

And if you want to go beyond that, and keep the idea attached to these two characters, 作 enters in the composition of 工作，作家，操作，杰作 etc. therefore you see that they all convey the idea of a *skilled work*, related to some kind of *craft*. You don't have that at all with 做 which just mean *to do *(which is not fully interchangeable with to make, despite a close meaning).

Finally, 作 is seldom use as a verb, and I have never see it used alone (only in compound form).


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## DavidCornell

^I agree with you. The best way to remember which to use is to remember each word separately. Actually these two characters are among the most confusing for Chinese people too. I always have to think about which one to use whenever I write. Sometimes I simply don't know which one to use and will just use whatever I think is right and don't even bother to consult a dictionary.

But I think the general rule is that 作 is used for more abstract things, while 做 is used for more concrete things. I think someone has made a similar point. I agree with that.


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## Staarkali

I have to take back my very last statement: I have met a couple of verb 作 alone today


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## patrick_socal

ChrisCashman said:


> 我的中文水平是大学第二年的，and the only time I've seen 作 is in 工作 - that's it.
> 
> Looking forward to seeing other contexts where it's used!!


Here are the some results of googling 作，headings only:

Results *1* - *10* of about *400,000,000* for *作*.

男人若对女人好点，就没有作女了_TOM娱乐
作诗填词格律检查词牌藏书阁诗词6万首中国古典诗词
天作
《让爱作主》_影音娱乐_新浪网
全自动作诗机- 大鱼若智，大智若鱼- clie.com.cn
吴作人官方网站
手作芸城| 手工DIY制作爱好者的快乐家园| 中国手工DIY艺术作教学社区 ...
 尺规作图- 维基百科，自由的百科全书
5DS智作,频道包装,电视包装,广告特效,动画培训,影视培训,导演培训,学历教育
作甚@ZUOSHEN.COM

So not only used in 工作 as you can see。

But you are correct that 工作 is a common usage:
only to indicate frequency of use:
Results *1* - *10* of about *593,000,000* for *工作*. 

[  If you search the results it seems that searching for 作 does not find 工作。

Searching for *工作 *within the results of searching for 作 gives:

Results *1* - *10* of about *225,000,000* for *作 工作*.
*中央经济工作会议闭幕胡锦涛温家宝作重要讲话_高层动态_新华网*

the results I looked at always had *作 and 工作* (never only 工作) so apparently the google search for *作 doesn't find 工作*. ]
==============
googling 做 gives 
 Results *1* - *10* of about *753,000,000* for *做*

You can say that both are in common use.



Staarkali said:


> [...]they all convey the idea of a *skilled work*, related to some kind of *craft*. You don't have that at all with 做 which just mean *to do*[...]


Certainly there is one exception: 做爱 which, if performed correctly, is very skilled work indeed!!!


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## Senordineroman

Are you serious???  They _really _say "zuo ai" in China?


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## Staarkali

hehe; actually, because of this thread, I have checked things and learned a couple of things, such as 作爱 is possible (cf. http://fawen.cn/yingyu-cidian.html). I was quite surprised ! (should it be trusted anyway?)


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## about:blank

I believe 作爱 is a mistake. I checked every dictionary I've got here and there's no such term. Those things on the internet can't be trusted at all.


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## Staarkali

chat: Agreed; actually that's a general problem with Chinese resources. For example, 金山词霸 is most inaccurate in both meaning and pronunciation, and is not 100% performant.. And my various 汉法法汉 dictionary books are correct but not accurate enough..


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## patrick_socal

about:blank said:


> I believe 作爱 is a mistake. I checked every dictionary I've got here and there's no such term. Those things on the internet can't be trusted at all.



I think 作爱 is widely used.
It may not be "correct" in the academic sense, but it is frequently used in written Chinese.

For an unbiased test, you can do a google search on 作爱 and see how many results you find where it is used in the sense of "make love".

This method gives an indication of actual use, but not whether or not that use would be considered correct usage.

[ Edit to add: I think the accepted usage is 做爱 and the frequency of actual use confirms this as one finds that 做爱 is used more frequently than 作爱 in the sense of "make love"。

I apologize for side-tracking the thread, although I think it is an interesting side trip. ]

Patrick


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## DavidCornell

ChrisCashman said:


> Are you serious???  They _really _say "zuo ai" in China?


做爱 is a new word translated from English, at least I think so. Sometimes it is abbreviated as just 做, which is similar to the English "do". Lol.


Staarkali said:


> chat: Agreed; actually that's a general problem  with Chinese resources. For example, 金山词霸 is most inaccurate in both  meaning and pronunciation, and is not 100% performant.. And my various  汉法法汉 dictionary books are correct but not accurate enough..


I always recommend using a dictionary written exclusively in the native language. For Chinese, I like 现代汉语词典 （商务印书馆）。 When I study English, I try to use an all-English dictionary. So if your level of that language is high enough, you should always use a native dictionary. Translation is not accurate.


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## about:blank

DavidCornell said:


> 做爱 is a new word translated from English


No it's absolutely not! It's in the dictionary and I've got a reliable, dependable & trustworthy _ancient_ dictionary...
What do you think people say about make love before they knew it in English? Or they don't do it? XD


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## DavidCornell

^I had thought of saying this before posting my reponse you quoted, but actually the phrase 做爱 isn't used that much. It actually sounds funny. Instead there are many other ways of saying it. But since this is not a Hide This Chinese Book discussion, I will not list all the other expressions in this regard.


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## about:blank

patrick_socal said:


> I think 作爱 is widely used.
> It may not be "correct" in the academic sense, but it is frequently used in written Chinese.
> 
> For an unbiased test, you can do a google search on 作爱 and see how many results you find where it is used in the sense of "make love".
> 
> This method gives an indication of actual use, but not whether or not that use would be considered correct usage.
> 
> [ Edit to add: I think the accepted usage is 做爱 and the frequency of actual use confirms this as one finds that 做爱 is used more frequently than 作爱 in the sense of "make love"。
> 
> I apologize for side-tracking the thread, although I think it is an interesting side trip. ]
> 
> Patrick



It can't be called widely used! *People type wrong characters ALL THE TIME*!!!! You should know this if you've ever, ever actually typed in Chinese. Those mistakes are what proofreaders do for a living. 

I just googled 作爱 and got about 3,780,000 results. Does this mean anything? Yes! It means that there're 3,780,000 idiots don't know the correct term of their favorite word!

You can't say it's right b/c _google_ told you that!!! I saw millions of wrong typing on Chinese forums and these does NOT make wrong terms right! It's the INTERNET for god's sake! Nobody takes it serious.(Well obviously except here in WR  )
You know what, I just googled Britney Sp*ee*rs and found 415,000 results concerning Britney Sp*ea*rs. Does it make sense?

I know I'm a bit aggressive but this is what I become when I see someone being irresponsible. You are irresponsible here telling others the thing you're not sure about (as if you' are).

I like your side track though. XD


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## Staarkali

about:blank said:


> No it's absolutely not! It's in the dictionary and I've got a reliable, dependable & trustworthy _ancient_ dictionary...
> What do you think people say about make love before they knew it in English? Or they don't do it? XD


 
*Make clouds and rain?*  I admit that was easy but there is a point after all;
One of my (male) colleagues told me once he had to speak English with me if we wanted to be accurate about positions, and other stuff (I ask for the translations, he told me there is not). Ask any English native what is the dog position or the missionary position, or what is the foreplay, you'll have a very high rate of valuable answers.
Ask any Chinese (especially from 大陆) and I will be surprised if you have more than just one percent of answers. If you start talking about it, most people (especially from opposite sex) will just have a red face, and will actively change the conversation topic !
Physical love and sex stuff have hard time finding their place in modern Chinese culture, it seems..


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## about:blank

DavidCornell said:


> I had thought of saying this before posting my reponse you quoted, but actually the phrase 做爱 isn't used that much. It actually sounds funny. Instead there are many other ways of saying it. But since this is not a Hide This Chinese Book discussion, I will not list all the other expressions in this regard.


I'm really curious. So what is the phrase that been _used that much_? Except for the impolite ways like _gan_ or _cao_ which any rational man would not use to a woman he's willing to do it with. 
There're 17,700,000 google results for 做爱 and 21,480,000 in total if we count the 3,780,000 mistaken-used 作爱 results in as well. Can it be called _used that much_?
It's funny that my naughty, funky Chinese buddies don't think the term 做爱 is funny.


Staarkali said:


> *Make clouds and rain?*


That was really really formal. I'll find it really nuts should someone use it in daily life. The last time I saw it was in 红楼梦.


Staarkali said:


> Physical love and sex stuff have hard time finding their place in modern Chinese culture, it seems..


That's true! It's unwise to talk about it with someone from the opposite sex in China. But they do blah-blah with the same sex as far as I know.XDDDDDD
(You can't imagine my boarding school experience in China,those girls' conversation XD)

Anyways,it's normal that they have the word but fear to say it out loud.


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## samanthalee

Staarkali said:


> One of my (male) colleagues told me once he had to speak English with me if we wanted to be accurate about positions, and other stuff (I ask for the translations, he told me there is not). Ask any English native what is the dog position or the missionary position, or what is the foreplay, you'll have a very high rate of valuable answers.



The Chinese entered the "Victorian Era" （of prudery) only these past few centuries.
There are terms for missionary position and dog position. You colleague is just not knowledgeable enough in the ancient text.

This thread is about 做 and 作. It is not about 做爱. Please stay on topic.


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