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做zuòto make; to produce

HSK 1word

By Chinese Copilot · Last updated

做 (zuò) means "to make" or "to do." Use it when you produce something, such as making food, or when you carry out an action or task. It appears in set phrases like 做饭 and 做作业. Treat it as a general action verb for making and doing, not as a formal "to be" for identity.

What does 做 mean?

  1. 1.

    to make; to produceverb

  2. 2.

    to do; to engage in; to hold (a party etc)verb

What does the character 做 mean?

  • 做to make; to produce

How do you use 做?

做 covers both making something and doing a task; negate present or future with 不, and past with 没 or 没有.

Patterns

  • 做 + Noun

    妈妈做饭。

    Māma zuò fàn.

    Mom cooks.

  • 在 + 做 + Noun

    他在做工作。

    Tā zài zuò gōngzuò.

    He is doing work.

What are some examples of 做 in a sentence?

  1. HSK 1

    我做饭。

    Wǒ zuò fàn.

    I cook (make a meal).

  2. HSK 1

    你在做什么？

    Nǐ zài zuò shénme?

    What are you doing?

  3. HSK 1

    他们做菜。

    Tāmen zuò cài.

    They are cooking dishes.

  4. HSK 1

    我今天不做这个。

    Wǒ jīntiān bú zuò zhège.

    I'm not doing this today.

How is 做 different from 是?

做 means to make or to do an action (做饭, 做什么). 是 links identity or category ("is"). 我做饭 is about cooking; swapping in 是 gives 我是饭, which does not mean cooking.

Only 做 fits here

我做饭。

Wǒ zuò fàn.

I cook / make a meal.

How is 做 used in a conversation?

  1. Speaker A:

    你在做什么？

    Nǐ zài zuò shénme?

    What are you doing?

  2. Speaker B:

    我在做饭。

    Wǒ zài zuò fàn.

    I'm cooking.

  3. Speaker A:

    你做什么菜？

    Nǐ zuò shénme cài?

    What dish are you making?

  4. Speaker B:

    我做米饭和菜。

    Wǒ zuò mǐfàn hé cài.

    I'm making rice and vegetables.

  5. Speaker A:

    我可以做什么？

    Wǒ kěyǐ zuò shénme?

    What can I do?

  6. Speaker B:

    你可以买菜。

    Nǐ kěyǐ mǎi cài.

    You can buy vegetables.

Can you use 做 correctly?

0 of 3 answered
  1. 1.Fill in the blank ("cook / make a meal"): 我___饭。
  2. 2.Fill in the blank ("What are you doing?"): 你在___什么？
  3. 3.Which sentence means "They are cooking dishes"?

What should you learn next?

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English glosses on this page are adapted from CC-CEDICT, published by MDBG (snapshot 2026-10-23), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Glosses were edited for learners.