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  zou6   jyutping
  zuo4   pinyin
[1] [v] work; make; do [2] [v] act as [3] [v] pretend to be [4] [v] give (a party, reception, etc.) [5] [v] enter (a profession) [6] [v] become

Stroke count: 11
Level: 2
Radical: (#9)

This character is used in both Cantonese and Mandarin/Standard written Chinese.

This word has been viewed 33009 times since 30th Oct 2012, was added by sheik on 18th Mar 2007 21:22 and last edited on 8th Jul 2009 20:44

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detail  zou6 je5  zuo4 ye3 = to work; to do things
detail  dim2 zou6  dian3 zuo4 = "How do I do this?"
detail  giu3 zou6  jiao4 zuo4 = to be called
detail  zou6 pang4 jau5   = to make friends
detail  zou6 faat3  zuo4 fa3 = behaviour, practice, way of doing things
detail  zou6 jyun4  zuo4 wan2 = finished; done; complete
detail  zou6 sing4   = to complete; to accomplish
detail  zou6 co3  zuo4 cuo4 = to err; to make a mistake
detail  zou6 hou2   = to finish; to complete
detail  zou6 si6   = to work
See all 122 compounds (CantoDict reports 123 compounds in total, but some may be Common Formations)

Showing all 72 examples containing 做
detail audio 學校做嘢
I work at school
detail audio 做乜嘢?
Why are you sad/angry?
detail audio 乜嘢?
What are you doing?
[http://www.cantonese.sheik.co.uk/phorum/read.php?14,131584,131584#msg-131584]
detail audio 做咩?
How come you are so slow?
[http://www.cantonese.sheik.co.uk/phorum/read.php?14,134219,134225#msg-134225]
detail 乜嘢
What are you doing?
detail 做功課  ? 
Help me with my homework!
[Lit. teach me do homework]
detail 噉樣做為出嚟
This way is to find him out.
detail 做乜噉樣
Why are you so frightened?
[Lit. do what scare completely this-way [particle]?]
detail 做生意
So you want to be a businessman?
[Lit. you want study do business? More direct translation: You want to study how to do business? This is a good example of a serial verb construction. There are three in a row here (想學做) but more are possible.]
detail 獵豹唔可以寵物
You can't keep a cheetah as a pet!
[Lit. cheetah cannot do pet [particle]]
detail audio 真係唔明白點解噉樣
I really don't understand why he acts/behaves like this.
[http://www.cantonese.sheik.co.uk/phorum/read.php?14,131924,131924#msg-131924]
detail audio 使乜噉樣
Why is it necessary to do it this way? [Implication: Don't do it this way.]
detail audio 自然
The more you do it, the more natural it will become.
detail audio 上次做錯
Last time I made a mistake.
detail audio 就要量地官
I'll be out of a job after the new year.
detail 肥仔多啲運動減肥
Fat guys have to do more exercise to lose weight.
detail 以前呢度生意做得而家喎呵
Doing business here used to be all right, but now, it's over.
detail audio 適合
He is fit for the job.
detail audio 啱晒
This job is fit for him.
detail 唔會任何
I'm not going to do anything to you.
[Lit. I will not toward you do any (possessive particle) thing]
detail 畀我做嘢嗰度秘書收埋
My shoes were hidden by the secretary at work.
[Lit. I pair shoes by I work there [classifier] secretary hide-already]
detail 近排我哋滿意
We're satisfied with the work you've done recently.
[Lit. You recently do [particle] things, we [meaningless word] satisfied. Here, 好 has no particular meaning, and just serves to introduce the adjective afterwards.]
detail 天文學月球
In astronomy, it's called "月球" (i.e. the moon).
[上 here means "in the field of".]
detail 點解噉樣合作  ?! 
Why would you co-operate like this?
detail 唔好嘈唔知幾多  ?! 
Don't disturb me, I'm up to my eyes in work.
[Lit. don't disturb me, don't know how-much work [to] do.]
detail 有用
Make yourself a useful person.
[Lit. you need do [counter] useful [possessive particle] person]
detail 做乜搞成噉
What were you thinking?
[Lit. do what make complete thus [particle]? This is an idiomatic expression that does not take well to direct translation.]
detail 平時做嘢敷衍
I'm normally pretty apathetic about my work.
[You can also say 我平時做嘢做得好敷衍.]
detail 任何勤儉
Be thrifty and hardworking in whatever undertaking you are to start on.
detail audio 呢個方案三個月為期可以做完
I believe this project can be completed within three months.
detail audio 成日食嘢唔做嘢搏炒係咪?
You're forever eating and not doing work; are you trying to get fired?
detail audio 做乜鬼鼠?
Why are you being so sneaky?
detail 起勢噉
He finished the work with vigour.
detail audio 咁多陰質
you did so many bad things
detail audio 邊個眼高手低無論佢嘅目標崇高能力
It's such a pity that no matter how big his aims are, he hasn't the ability to see them through.
detail audio 天下無敵無能為力
[He] talks as if no one in the world could match him, but when he must act, he is completely incapable.
detail audio 做到嗍氣
This job involves strenuous work.
[[i]lit.[/i] this job work till gasp breath Note: "job" is topic, not subject. Extent particle 到 is followed by verb phrase 嗍氣.]
detail 稟神做乜
Why are you muttering to yourself?
detail 工作如果無任歡迎
Much work remains to be done. Any assistance that you can render is most welcome.
detail 利害三兩下手勢做低對手
His opponent was defeated in no time. He is really formidable.
detail 我哋幾個夾手夾腳做完報告
We will be able to complete the report very soon with everyone's help and cooperation.
detail 成日賭錢都好激氣
As a mother, she is very upset with her son gambling.
detail 做嘢做到天光
He works so slowly, he won't be even finished by [next] morning.
detail 邊度
Where will you work in the future?
detail 做嘢快手之不過有時揦西
He is very fast in what he does, but occasionally he can be sloppy.
detail 下扒輕輕就要做到
Don't just say it, you must do it.
detail 唔係而係自己開心
I do this job not for the money, but rather for my happiness.
detail 工作不是而是自己開心
I do this job not for the money, but rather for my happiness.
detail audio 機會稱職老婆
Give me a chance to be a good and competent wife.
detail audio 以為攝影師男朋友一定會好多殊不知一張
I had the idea that by having a photographer as boyfriend, I would have many of my pictures taken. Little did I know that none of the photographs were of me.
detail 做錯少少, 乞人憎!
He chews you out for every small mistake you make, it's no wonder he's so unpopular!
detail 𥊙做乜嘢!
Take a peep to see what he's been doing!
detail 你做初一我做十五
tit for tat, an eye for an eye
[Lit. "what you do for the first half of the month, I will do back to you for the second half" i.e do me harm and I will return the favour. See a video featuring this phrase [url=http://www.cantonese.sheik.co.uk/phorum/read.php?7,84620]here.[/url]]
detail 這樣豈不實際
Wouldn't that be more practical?
detail 棒打鴛鴦
Doing this would break the couple apart. I cannot bear to do it.
detail 做事不留撳地游水唔會較飛
He has all along been very careful. He will not land you in trouble.
detail 就算亦都於事無補
Even by doing so, you would not help the situation.
detail 壓力壓力做咩挑釁
"You have pressure, I have pressure, why do you want to provoke me?"
[This infamous quote from 巴士阿叔 ("Bus Uncle") was a cultural phenomenon in 2006. See the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bus_Uncle.]
detail 人家點樣,點樣做
Just do as you are told.
detail 最好快手快腳功課
You better to finish your homework quickly.
detail 嗱嗱聲然後食飯
You should hurry up and finish your work, so that you can have your meal!
detail 我哋瞓身做好
We'll give this job our best shot.
detail 科學家科學方法研究
A scientist is someone who does research using scientific methods.
detail 做生意第一就係
If you wanna be a businessman, the first thing you gotta learn is how to play dirty.
[Lit. you want study do business, number one [counter] thing is-exactly study wickedness]
detail 邊個,?
Who told you to do this, really?
[㗎 is a final particle used here to soften an assertive question. 吓 functions like a question tag that does not carry any actual meaning. ]
detail ,點解噉樣?
Tut-tut, what on earth did you do that for?
[吓 is an exclamation used here to express disapproval. ]
detail 冷靜繼續做嘢
Keep Calm and Carry On
detail 健身嗰個細佬
The guy doing the keep-fit exercise is my brother.
[In the Canto version, the noun 'guy' is placed after the verbal phrase which modifies the noun. In the English version, the noun is placed before the phrase.]
detail 睇起困難但係落去好容易
This task seems quite difficult, but doing it is really easy.
[Aspect markers 起嚟 and 落去 function rather like antonyms, originally meaning "starting to" and "carrying on" respectively. ]
detail 做事出錯改正避免矯枉過正
We must correct what has been done wrong, but also avoid making correction beyond what is really necessary.
detail 識做?
Can he really do this piece of job?
[In this example 做 and 咩 are separate. Cf. the shorter more ambiguous "佢識做咩?", which can be interpreted as 1. "What can he do?" (when 做咩 is treated together), or 2. "Can he do it?" (when treated separately).]
detail 跟住報廢手續㗎喇
Follow the condemnation and write-off procedures and you can't go wrong.

Legend
: This term is used in Mandarin/Standard written Chinese, not Cantonese.  
: This term is used in Cantonese, not Mandarin/Standard written Chinese.
No icon: This term is used in both Cantonese and Mandarin/Standard written Chinese.
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Copyright Adam Sheik 2003-2024.