The German word machen is the same.

to make or to do. I kind of find it confusing sometimes, but context is your friend. :)

Here's what the ol' Oxford American says:
Do:
ORIGIN Old English don, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch doen and German tun, from an Indo-European root shared by Greek tithemi ?I place? and Latin facere ?make, do.?
note: the German word tun means 'to do' as well but in German idiom machen means to do as well.

Make:
ORIGIN Old English macian, from a base meaning ?fitting? ; related to match 1 .

That is incredibly interesting, well, it is to me and the rest of us philologists. ;)