English has the make/do split too, so this feels familiar — but that familiarity is a trap. Maken ("make") and doen ("do") divide the work along roughly the same line as English, yet the two languages disagree on dozens of everyday phrases. The single most notorious clash: Dutch says huiswerk maken ("homework make"), where English firmly says "do homework." So you can't just translate make→maken and do→doen and trust your ear. You need the underlying rule plus a short list of fixed collocations to learn as whole chunks. This page gives you both.
The underlying rule
Strip away the collocations and the core distinction is genuinely simple:
- maken = to make, create, produce, build, or repair — you bring a thing into existence or back into working order. The result is a (changed or new) object.
- doen = to do, perform, carry out — you engage in an activity. The result is an action having taken place, not a thing produced.
Ik maak vanavond het eten.
I'm making dinner tonight. — you produce food, so maken.
Wie doet vandaag de afwas?
Who's doing the washing-up today? — an activity, no thing produced, so doen.
Maken: make, create, produce, repair
Use maken when something is created, produced, or fixed. The "repair" sense surprises English speakers: de auto maken doesn't mean "make a car," it means fix the car — restore it to working order, which is a kind of (re)making.
De monteur kan je auto vandaag nog maken.
The mechanic can fix your car today. — 'maken' = repair, not build.
Zullen we een foto maken?
Shall we take a photo? — Dutch 'makes' a photo (een foto maken), where English 'takes' one.
Pas op, je maakt het kapot!
Watch out, you're breaking it! — 'kapot maken' = to break (literally 'make broken').
Note een foto maken ("take a photo"): Dutch makes the photo. And kapot maken ("to break") literally means "to make broken" — a productive pattern where maken + a result-adjective means "cause to become." A few high-value maken collocations to bank as chunks:
| Dutch | English |
|---|---|
| huiswerk maken | to do homework (not doen!) |
| een foto maken | to take a photo |
| het eten / een maaltijd maken | to make food / a meal |
| de auto maken | to fix the car |
| kapot maken | to break (something) |
| een afspraak maken | to make an appointment |
| een wandeling maken | to take/go for a walk |
| een fout maken | to make a mistake |
The one to circle is huiswerk maken. English homework is done; Dutch homework is made — because you produce the finished work (the filled-in pages), so it falls on the maken side of the rule. Get this wrong and every Dutch speaker notices instantly.
Heb je je huiswerk al gemaakt?
Have you done your homework yet? — Dutch 'maakt' homework. The single most common make/do error for English speakers.
Maken is a regular weak verb: present ik maak, jij maakt, hij maakt, wij maken (the a doubles in the open syllable); past maakte / maakten; participle gemaakt (with hebben).
Doen: do, perform, carry out
Use doen for activities — performing a task, an errand, a game, a chore — where nothing is manufactured. Many of these are fixed expressions too.
Ik moet nog even boodschappen doen.
I still need to do the grocery shopping. — 'boodschappen doen' = to do the shopping.
Hij doet altijd zijn best op school.
He always does his best at school. — 'zijn best doen' = to do one's best.
Zullen we straks een spelletje doen?
Shall we play a game later? — 'een spelletje doen' = to do/play a game.
And one that English keeps with "do" too, but is worth flagging — pijn doen, "to hurt":
Mijn rug doet pijn als ik te lang zit.
My back hurts when I sit too long. — 'pijn doen' = to hurt (literally 'do pain').
High-value doen collocations to bank as chunks:
| Dutch | English |
|---|---|
| de afwas doen | to do the washing-up |
| boodschappen doen | to do the (grocery) shopping |
| de was doen | to do the laundry |
| zijn best doen | to do one's best |
| een spelletje doen | to play a game |
| pijn doen | to hurt |
| iets aan iets doen | to do something about something |
Doen is irregular: present ik doe, jij doet, hij doet, wij doen; past deed / deden; participle gedaan (with hebben) — Ik heb de afwas gedaan.
Where Dutch and English disagree
Most make/do phrases line up across the two languages, which is exactly why the mismatches are so easy to miss. These are the ones to memorise because they break the pattern:
| Phrase | Dutch | English | Mismatch? |
|---|---|---|---|
| homework | huiswerk maken | do homework | yes — opposite verbs |
| a photo | een foto maken | take a photo | yes — English uses 'take' |
| the dishes | de afwas doen | do the dishes | no — both 'do' |
| a mistake | een fout maken | make a mistake | no — both 'make' |
| one's best | zijn best doen | do one's best | no — both 'do' |
Don't try to derive these from English; learn the chunk. Huiswerk maken and een foto maken are the two that English speakers reliably get wrong.
Common Mistakes
❌ Ik moet mijn huiswerk doen.
Incorrect calque from English 'do homework'. Dutch uses maken.
✅ Ik moet mijn huiswerk maken.
I have to do my homework.
❌ Wie maakt vanavond de afwas?
Incorrect — the washing-up is an activity, not a thing produced; use doen.
✅ Wie doet vanavond de afwas?
Who's doing the washing-up tonight?
❌ Zullen we een foto doen?
Incorrect — Dutch 'makes' a photo; use maken (English 'take' is a third option neither verb covers).
✅ Zullen we een foto maken?
Shall we take a photo?
❌ De monteur doet mijn auto morgen.
Incorrect — repairing produces a working thing; 'fix' is maken, not doen.
✅ De monteur maakt mijn auto morgen.
The mechanic will fix my car tomorrow.
❌ Doe het niet kapot!
Incorrect for 'don't break it' — 'kapot maken' (make broken) uses maken; 'doe' here would mean something else.
✅ Maak het niet kapot!
Don't break it!
Key Takeaways
- maken = produce, create, build, or repair a thing; doen = perform an activity with no product.
- The core test: does a thing result (made/fixed)? → maken. Is it just an activity? → doen.
- Both verbs carry fixed collocations — learn them as chunks, not from English.
- The big traps: huiswerk maken (English "do homework") and een foto maken (English "take a photo").
- kapot maken = to break (literally "make broken"); pijn doen = to hurt.
Now practice Dutch
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Dutch→Related Topics
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