Where 做 comes from
Someone 亻 who causes things to happen 故; 故 also provides the pronuncation
How to write 做 (zuò, “to make”)
做 (zuò), an HSK 1 character, means “to make”, “to write” and “to do”. It is a character whose parts combine into its meaning. On its own it is an HSK 1 word; it also forms 做饭 (“to prepare a meal”), 做客 (“to be a guest or visitor”) and 做法 (“way of handling sth”). Japanese reads it sa, “make”.
- Pinyin
- zuò
- Strokes
- 11
- HSK
- 1
- Radical
- 亻 (“person”)
Stroke by stroke
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
As a left-right character it splits into 亻 (“person”, the radical), strokes 1–2; 故 (“reason”), strokes 3–11, written the left part first.
- top leftdown and left
- leftdownwards
- leftrightwards
- topdownwards
- leftdownwards
- leftrightwards → down and left
- bottomrightwards
- topdown and left
- centerrightwards
- rightdown and left
- centerdown and right
Japanese and Chinese
The two models differ in shape, so our comparison does not claim an order; compare the numbered frames yourself (11 strokes in Japanese, 11 strokes in Chinese).
Trace it
Follow the numbers. Tracing help
Pinyin and meaning
| Pinyin | Meanings | Traditional | In words |
|---|---|---|---|
| zuò fourth tone | to make; to produce; to write; to compose; to do; to engage in; to hold (a party etc); (of a person) to be (an intermediary, a good student etc); to become (husband and wife, friends etc); (of a thing) to serve as; to be used for | — | 做饭 做客 做法 做梦 |
- HSK 2025 syllabus
- level 1
- 2021 standard
- level 1
- HSK 2.0
- in a level 1 word
- Words with it
- 95 in CC-CEDICT
Words with 做
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 做 | zuò | to make; to produce HSK 1 |
| 做饭 做飯 | zuòfàn | to prepare a meal; to cook HSK 1 |
| 做客 | zuòkè | to be a guest or visitor HSK 3 |
| 做法 | zuòfǎ | way of handling sth; method for making HSK 4 |
| 做梦 做夢 | zuòmèng | to dream; to have a dream HSK 4 |
| 定做 | dìngzuò | to have something made to order HSK 7-9 |
| 做东 做東 | zuòdōng | to act as host |
| 做事 | zuòshì | to work; to handle matters |
| 做人 | zuòrén | to conduct oneself; to behave with integrity |
| 做作 | zuòzuo | affected; artificial |
HSK words first (CC-CEDICT).
Practice sheet
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Keep going
HSK 1, in list order: