作 and 做

[bones]

Hello,

I'm reading a book called 人类始祖. One sentence reads:

他们从森林燃起的大火中带回了燃烧的树枝作火种.

Why is 作 used instead of 做?

What is the difference if it was written: 做火种?

Thanks.

[leeyah]

As I see it - in the phrase there's no difference really, both are used interchangeably by native speakers. Basically the character 作 is historically older than 做.

作 is more often in traditional contexts (书面语), while 做 has a slightly colloquial tone, and is used in more practical context: 做饭，做菜, 做家务, 做客, 做安排 ...vs. 作 in: 做贡献，作报告, 作用...

In some cases they are not interchangeable as in compounds: 合作 cannot be' 合做';or 作品 cannot be '做品' etc.

I suppose 作 would also be more like the chengyu character: 当牛作马,etc and like a set phrases-character 所作所为, 无所作为 but still 做交流 ...

Some say 作 is common in the North, then maybe 做 would be more likely used in, let's say, Cantonese. You can read more about it in Chinese if you like (“作”、“做”在普通话中读音已经混同了，但是在许多方言中读音并不相同...)

[greenmoon55]

It's a little diffcult to judge them even for native speakers.

[HashiriKata]

I tend to think of 做 as for concrete actions: 做饭， 做工作，... and 作 as for the more abstract: 做样子，作斗争，... . But since this is not a rule, so when I get stuck, I just 做一做做作的

Edited October 2, 2008 at 12:41 PM by HashiriKata

[sweetcheri]

^ That's how I think of it as well. I usually use 做 as a verb, "to do". And 作 as part of phrases that are nouns.

Like "做作业” -> 做= to do, 作业 = homework. I think 作 is mostly always used for noun phrases. You can not say 做业 as homework; that's completely wrong.

[L-F-J]

usage for concrete vs abstract actions is the usual distinction. see here: http://zhidao.baidu.com/question/59316419.html?fr=qrl

[bones]

Thank you all for your input!