做 (zuò): to do, to make
做 (zuò) is a Chinese character meaning “to do, to make.” Classified as HSK Level 1 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 亻 (structural) and 故 (structural). It ranks #246 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 做 someone 亻 who causes things to happen 故; 故 also provides the pronuncation. Its radical form 亻 (person) appears in many related characters such as 人 (rén, person), 什 (shén, what), 今 (jīn, now).
Definitions
- to do, to make
Etymology & Origin
ideographicSomeone 亻 who causes things to happen 故; 故 also provides the pronuncation
Decomposition: ⿰亻故 (layout: left-right)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 做 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 做
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 做梦verb | zuò mèng | to dream | 4 |
| 做饭 | zuò fàn | to prepare a meal | 1 |
| 做法noun | zuò fǎ | way of handling sth | 4 |
| 做客verb | zuò kè | to be a guest or visitor | 3 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 做到 | zuò dào | to accomplish |
| 做出 | zuò chū | to put out |
| 叫做 | jiào zuò | to be called |
| 做爱 | zuò ài | to make love |
| 做事 | zuò shì | to work |
| 当做 | dàng zuò | to treat as |
| 做主 | zuò zhǔ | variant of 作主[zuo4 zhu3] |
| 做人 | zuò rén | to conduct oneself |
| 小题大做 | xiǎo tí dà zuò | to make a big fuss over a minor issue (idiom) |
| 说到做到 | shuō dào zuò dào | to be as good as one's word (idiom) |
| 定做 | dìng zuò | to have something made to order |
| 做作 | zuò zuo | affected |
| 做礼拜 | zuò lǐ bài | to worship |
| 看做 | kàn zuò | to regard as |
| 做菜 | zuò cài | to cook |
做 appears in 100 compound words: 74 as the first character, 20 as the last, and 6 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 做 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (14)
to spin daydreams; to indulge in wishful thinking; to build castles in the air
to persuade using all possible arguments (idiom); to act good cop and bad cop in turn
to work one's butt off; to work extremely hard; to lower one's dignity to do everything and anything for someone
to put on an act (idiom); to pose; to show theatrical affectation; to indulge in histrionics
to spin daydreams; to indulge in wishful thinking; to build castles in the air
Showing 12 of 14 idioms containing 做.
Example Sentences
做决策之前要充分考虑各种因素，不能草率行事。
Zuò juécè zhīqián yào chōngfèn kǎolǜ gè zhǒng yīnsù, bùnéng cǎoshuài xíngshì.
Before making decisions, fully consider various factors; don't act hastily.
黄榕外貌有变否认做医美疗程 开心被网民指跟阿仪越来越似 黄...
huáng 榕 wài mào yǒu biàn fǒu rèn zuò yī měi liáo chéng kāi xīn bèi wǎng mín zhǐ gēn ā yí yuè lái yuè sì huáng . . .
Huang Rong's appearance has changed, denying medical aesthetic treatment, and being happily accused by netizens of becoming more and more similar to Ah Yi.
做白日梦?马斯克提太空兴建资料中心 奥特曼...
zuò bái rì mèng ? mǎ sī kè tí tài kōng xīng jiàn zī liào zhōng xīn ào tè 曼 . . .
Daydreaming? Musk mentioned the space construction data center Ultraman...
外卖骑手黄晓琴:做骑手与社会连接的纽带|在春天许一..
wài mài qí shǒu huáng xiǎo qín : zuò qí shǒu yǔ shè huì lián jiē de niǔ dài zài chūn tiān xǔ yī . .
Takeaway rider Huang Xiaoqin: Be the link between riders and society|In the spring, Xu Yi:
和首都女铁骑,做一天朋友
hé shǒu dū nǚ tiě qí , zuò yī tiān péng yǒu
I'll be friends for a day with the Capital Rangers.
对话上门做年夜饭的“95后”女生:回应春节当月收入...
duì huà shǎng mén zuò nián yè fàn de hòu nǚ shēng huí yīng chūn jié dāng yuè shōu rù . . .
Conversation with a Post-95s Woman Who Cooks New Year's Eve Dinners at Clients' Homes: Responding to Her Monthly Income During the Spring Festival...
你有100万美元的话，你会做什么？
Nǐ yǒu yī bǎi wàn Měiyuán de huà, nǐ huì zuò shénme?
What would you do if you had a million dollars?
你觉得对此该做什么？
Nǐ juéde duì cǐ gāi zuò shénme?
What do you think should be done about it?
有什么事是我该做的吗？
Yǒu shénme shì shì wǒ gāi zuò de ma?
Is there anything I must do?
你明天这个时候会是在做什么？
Nǐ míngtiān zhège shíhou huì shì zài zuò shénme?
What'll you be doing at this time tomorrow?
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
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What characters sound the same as 做 (zuò)?
Is 做 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 做 with real-time feedback
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