The everyday verb hacer, which typically means "to make" or "to do," gains new meanings when it is used with a prefix. Here are the members of the hacer family along with their most common meanings:

Contrahacer, unlike what you might expect, typically means to make a good copy of something. Although it can refer to counterfeiting, it doesn't have to have a negative connotation. This verb is uncommon.

• Contrahizo la firma del presidente. He forged the signature of the president.
• Todos los días oímos quejarse sobre la gran facilidad que hay en contrahacer los billetes del banco. Every day we hear complaining about the great ease there is in counterfeiting bank notes.

The past participle of contrahacer, contrahecho, refers to something that's twisted or distorted in some way:

• Quasimodo es el personaje contrahecho y sordo que creó Víctor Hugo. Quasimodo is the hunchbacked and deaf character that Victor Hugo created.
• Dice que el liberalismo es una filosofía contrahecha. He says that liberalism is a twisted philosophy.

Deshacer usually refers to the undoing of something. Its translation can very with context, as it can refer to, among other things, untying, unpacking, breaking up and canceling.

• Mi amigo perdió interés en el proyecto y se deshizo de él. My friend lost interest in the project and it was canceled.
• ¿Cómo deshago un pacto con el diablo? How do I get out of a pact with the devil?

• No quiero hacer la cama si luego la deshaceré. I don't want to make this bed if later I'll unmake it.
• Deshaz mi sufrimiento. Take away my suffering.
• No tengo derecho a deshacer la familia simplemente porque yo soy desdichada. I don't have the right to break up the family simply because I'm unhappy.

El quehacer, obviously formed by combining que and hacer, refers to tasks or activities that need to be done.

• Esta lista de quehaceres domésticos es dividida por habitaciones. This list of household chores is divided according to room.
• El trabajo es un quehacer humano que nos transforma. Work is a human task that transforms us.

Rehacer typically refers to redoing:

• El director rehacía su vida con una joven actriz. The director was remaking his life with a young actress.
• Rehago mi opinión: ¡Firefox ha hecho un gran trabajo! I'm changing my opinion: Firefox has done a great job!
• El zapatero rehizo cinco veces los zapatos de boda de mi madre. The shoe designer remade my mother's wedding shoes five times.

Conjugation: The verbs derived from hacer are conjugated in the pattern of hacer.

Sources: Sample sentences are adapted from the writings of native speakers. Among the sources consulted for this lesson are: Yahoo.es, Ministerio de la Gobernación de España, Peru21, Noticias.com, Nueva Nación, Rollo de Película, Jacqueline García, Mujer de Elite, AOL Latino, Softonic.com.