How to Write 做 (zuò) — Meaning “to do; to make; to become”

Imagine a person (亻) telling an old story (故) — they are 'doing' the action of storytelling. This connects the left radical for person with the right side's hint of 'old' or 'cause', helping you recall that 做 means 'to do' or 'to make'.

Write the left radical 亻 first (2 strokes: left-falling stroke then vertical), then the right side 故: start with 古 (horizontal, vertical, horizontal, vertical, horizontal) and finish with 攵 (left-falling, horizontal, left-falling, right-falling). A common mistake is making the right side too wide; keep 亻 narrow and the right side balanced.

做 has 故 on the right (古 + 攵), meaning 'to do/make'. 侮 has 每 (every) on the right, meaning 'to insult' — note the extra horizontal strokes in 每. 侯 has 厂 and 矢 (arrow) on the right, meaning 'marquis' — look for the top-left cliff shape (厂) and arrow (矢). Practicing these right-side components will help you tell them apart.

做 is a very common verb for daily actions like 做饭 (cook), 做作业 (do homework), and 做事 (handle matters). In Chinese culture, it often implies creating or completing tasks with effort, and it's used in polite requests such as '请做' (please do).

Common words containing 做 include: 做饭 (zuò fàn) — to cook; to prepare a meal; 做作业 (zuò zuò yè) — to do homework; 做事 (zuò shì) — to work; to do things; to handle matters.