MACHEN - TUN
Z U R Ü C K > Confusing Pairs - Contents
machen & tun
| machen | Was machst du da? What are you doing? Was machen Sie von Beruf? What do you do for a living? Das macht nichts. It doesn't matter./Forget it. Wann sollen wir das machen? When are we supposed to do that? Mach's gut! So long!/Take it easy! Das macht... hungrig/durstig/müde/fit. That makes you... hungry/thirsty/tired/fit. Da ist nichts zu machen Nothing can be done (about it). Das macht 10 Euro. That comes to 10 euro. |
|
| tun | Es tut mir leid. I'm sorry. Sie tut nichts als meckern. All she does is complain. Ich habe nichts damit zu tun. I have nothing to do with it./It's not my concern. Wir tun nur so. We're just pretending. Was tust du mit dem Hammer? What are you doing with the hammer? So etwas tut man nicht. That's just not done./That isn't a proper thing to do. |
|
Both of these words can mean "do" in English, but they are also used in many idiomatic German expressions that are best learned as vocabulary. Depending on how it is used, the verb machen can mean do, equal, give, last, make, matter, take and several other things in English. The verb tun is also used in colloquial German for "put": Tun Sie bitte die Bücher aufs Regal. (Please put the books on the shelf.) Even Germans have difficulty explaining the difference between these two words. Of the two, machen is more frequently used, so it is best to simply learn expressions that use tun and avoid using that verb if you aren't sure about it. Sometimes they may seem interchangeable (Was soll ich nur machen/tun? = So what am I supposed to do?), but in many cases there are subtle differences that prevent that. |
||
Z U R Ü C K > Confusing Pairs - Contents
M O R E > Confusing Words | False Friends
German Forum
Current Forum Topics
German for Beginners
Our free online German course.
