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Hello good people of Chinese Stack Exchange! Hope you're doing well.

It seems like the words 创造,创作,制造,制作,and 建造 are similar in that they mean "make" or "create," but from what I've seen, they are used in different contexts, and as such, it would sound weird if you used the wrong one in the wrong context.

From what I've gathered on my own, it seems that maybe "创作" refers to artistic works, like manuscripts or works of visual art, but I could be wrong, of course.

So what is the difference between all these words?

Thanks for all your help in advance. Hope you all have a great day.

4 Answers 4

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About the difference between 制造 and 制作, you can see @Tang Ho's answer, it's quite accurate.

The 创 in 创造 创作 创建 means "innovate"(创新), so the thing that you 创造\创作\创建 must not exist before.


The 作 in 创作 means "creative work"(作品), so 创作 means "create a work", generally referring to literature or artworks.

  • 谁创作了《圣经》?—— Who wrote the Bible?
  • 达芬奇于1502年开始创作《蒙娜丽莎》 —— Leonardo da Vinci began to create the Mona Lisa in 1502.

创造 and 创建 generally both mean "to build/create", but they are used in different situations.

创造 is more original and accidental, usually used with 发明 (invent), and in 创造力 meaning "creativity". It can also mean "make".

  • 他创造了一个奇迹 —— He created a miracle.
  • 这对培养儿童的创造力而言至关重要 —— This is essential for nurturing children’s creativity.

创建 is more about "building" and "making effort", which is used more narrowly. It can mean an organization is set up or an account is created.

  • 北京大学创建于1898年 —— Peking University was founded in 1898
  • 创建中小型企业需要创业技能 —— Entrepreneurial skills were needed in order to create small and medium-sized enterprises.

Specifically, the "create" in computer and Internet usually uses 创建

  • 在 Word 中创建文档 —— Create a document in Word
  • 在游戏中创建自定义房间 —— Create a custom room in game
  • 创建新文件夹 —— Create a new folder
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Although not 100% accurate, the following can help you remember the difference between them easily.

创造 -> 创造一个新事物

创作 -> 创作文学作品

制造 -> 用机器制造

制作 -> 用手制作

建造 -> 建造房屋

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创: create / invent / (make something new)

造: to make

作: to write / to paint / to make other types of intellectual work

建: to build


创造: invent something

他创造了一种新的可以用于探测的仪器

he invented a new kind of instrument for probing.

创作: writing (a book) / draw (artwork)

他创作了一副巨大的画

He draw a giant paint

制造: manufacture

螺丝刀是怎么制造的呢?

how is screwdriver manufactured?

制作: make

这样一张贺卡就制作好了

a gift card is made in this way

建造: build

工人们建造了一座房子

workers built a house.

创建 is less often used in daily communication, and considered to be used in certain context: interacting with some computer program and create (virtual / digital) objects.

eg.: we have 创建新文件夹(create a new directory) in right-click menu, or sometimes 新建文件夹


创立:proposing and building authority (of theories)

牛顿(Newton)创立了经典力学(Classical Mechanics)

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  • 制造 is also commonly used abstractly in a negative context like 制造麻烦 = to make trouble Commented Jan 9, 2022 at 18:00
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For the difference between 制造 and 制作, see my answer to this question :

  • 创 contains the meaning of "create"

  • 作 also contains the meaning of "create"

  • The compound 创作 means 'to create' or 'creation'

~

  • 建 = build

  • The compound 建造 means to build or make (something big)

~

  • 造 = make

  • The compound 创造 means "create" (and make)

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  • Awesome! Thank you! I wondered why your answer to the other question didn't show up when I searched the website earlier. Probably because I use simplified characters. Either way, thanks for your great answer!
    – AndrewO
    Commented Oct 13, 2021 at 2:51

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