做,干,办,作 when to use them?

[mikenh]

Hi all,

I am confused as when to use each of them.

What are the main differences between them?

Thanks!!

Mike

[zhxlier]

Hi mikenh,

This is a hard question. I am a native speaker of Chinese and feel it difficult to answer. I'll try my best:

做 vs 干

(1) Both mean "to do". 做 is more formal and 干 is more casual.

你在做什么？and 你在干什么？both mean "What are you doing?", but the latter is more commonly used in daily conversation.

(2) 做 can mean “to make", "to create". 做饭; 做衣服。干 doesn't have the meaning.

(3) A special usage: 做活（儿） and 干活（儿） are different.

In 干活（儿）, 干 means to do. 干活（儿） means "to do stuff".

In 做活（儿）, 做 means to create. 活儿 is the abbreviation of 针线活（儿）， which is the sewing and embroidering work that are traditionally done by women.