Comparing "gan" and "zuo"

干 and 做 both are verbs that mean “to do” as in “to do work” or “to do a job.” 做 can be used in formal/informal settings, whereas 干 is used more often in informal speech and writing. A key difference between these words is 做 also can mean “to do” in the sense of “to make”, whereas 干 does not have this usage.

B1HSK4ASV4567

	干 (gàn)	做 (zuò)
Meaning	to do	to do, to make
Part of Speech	verb	verb
Formality	informal	flexible

:Yes

To say “to do” in the sense of “to make” use 做

Common Phrases

• 做饭
• 做衣服
• 做家具

To say “to do” in the sense of “to act” or “to take action” use 干

Common Phrases

• 干活儿

Sources and further reading

Websites

“做” 与 “干” https://www.jianshu.com/p/a5aa779f0343

求助“做”与“干”的区别 https://zhidao.baidu.com/question/524202474403272445.html?qbl=relate_question_0&word=%D7%F6%BA%CD%B8%C9%20%D3%D0%CA%B2%C3%B4%C7%F8%B1%F0