@hans.castorp.tahiti,

This is a tricky question. Both of them have several different meanings. Here are some most useful ones:

做: 1) to make sth, such as 做衣服，做菜. 2) to play a role, such as 做母亲，做官. 3) to be used as sth, such as 这里可以做办公室. 4) to start a kind of relationship, such as 做朋友. 5) to do some kind of work or activity, such as 做生意，做事.

作: 1) to do some kind of work or activity, this looks like the 5th meaning of 做, but here the work is not as specific, like 作报告. 2) to do written works, such as 写作. 3) works of art, like 作品. 4) to regard sth as sth, such as 作为.

--Echo

echo@popupchinese.com