任

See also: 仟 and 件

任 U+4EFB, 任 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-4EFB ← 仺 [U+4EFA] CJK Unified Ideographs 仼 → [U+4EFC]

Translingual

Stroke order

Han character

任 (Kangxi radical 9, 人+4, 6 strokes, cangjie input 人竹土 (OHG), four-corner 2221₄, composition ⿰亻壬)

Derived characters

• 𠲏, 姙, 𢂧, 㤛, 拰, 㳝, 𤞘, 栣, 𭴞, 𭹆, 𥆂, 𥙛, 秹, 袵, 絍(𫟃), 𦣨, 䛘(𬣯), 𫏊, 𨠲, 銋, 餁
• 𨿂, 𪀼, 𠲉, 荏, 䇮, 𫕤, 𤶄, 凭, 𡜟, 𫶭, 恁, 栠, 𤇲, 㶵, 𠄶, 𬓧, 䋕, 𦚮, 𧙨, 賃(赁), 𨉃, 䣸, 𨿃, 𩷀, 鵀(𬸊)

References

• KangXi: page 94, character 24
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 416
• Dae Jaweon: page 200, character 15
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 122, character 6
• Unihan data for U+4EFB

Chinese

trad.		任
simp. #		任

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 任
Shang	Western Zhou	Warring States	Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)	Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Oracle bone script	Bronze inscriptions	Chu slip and silk script	Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts
Bronze inscriptions b12353 b12354 Small seal script s05801 Transcribed ancient scripts L33730 L33731 L12273 L12274 L12275 L12276 L12277 L12278 L12279
References: Mostly from Richard Sears' Chinese Etymology site (authorisation), which in turn draws data from various collections of ancient forms of Chinese characters, including: Shuowen Jiezi (small seal), Jinwen Bian (bronze inscriptions), Liushutong (Liushutong characters) and Yinxu Jiaguwen Bian (oracle bone script).

Characters in the same phonetic series (壬) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 

	Old Chinese
紝	*nɯm, *njɯm, *njɯms
鵀	*nɯm, *njɯm, *njɯms
拰	*nɯmʔ
賃	*nɯms
任	*njɯm, *njɯms
壬	*l̥ʰeːŋʔ, *njɯm
恁	*njɯm, *njɯmʔ
銋	*njɯm, *njɯmʔ
荏	*njɯmʔ
餁	*njɯmʔ
栠	*njɯmʔ
袵	*njɯmʔ
飪	*njɯmʔ
妊	*njɯms
衽	*njɯms

Phono-semantic compound (形聲, OC *njɯm, *njɯms): semantic 亻 (“person”) + phonetic 壬 (OC *l̥ʰeːŋʔ, *njɯm) – to carry on a shoulder pole.

Note that its phonetic part 壬 (OC *njɯm) may be the graphical representation of 任, depicting a shoulder pole rotated by 90 degrees.

Etymology

Cognate with 妊 (OC *njɯms, “pregnant”) and Tibetan སྣོམ་པ (snom pa, “to take; seize; hold”). May also be cognate with Proto-Kam-Sui *ȵam¹ (“to hold”) and Old Khmer nāṃ (“to carry”) (Schuessler, 2007).

Pronunciation 1

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): rèn (ren⁴)

  (Zhuyin): ㄖㄣˋ

• Cantonese

  (Guangzhou–Hong Kong, Jyutping): jam⁶

  (Taishan, Wiktionary): ngim⁵

• Hakka

  (Sixian, PFS): yim / ngim

  (Meixian, Guangdong): yim⁴

• Min Dong (BUC): êng
• Min Nan

  (Hokkien, POJ): līm / jīm

  (Teochew, Peng'im): rim⁶ / rim⁷

• Wu (Wugniu)
  • (Shanghainese): ⁶zen

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: rèn
    • Zhuyin: ㄖㄣˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: rèn
    • Wade–Giles: jên⁴
    • Yale: rèn
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: renn
    • Palladius: жэнь (žɛnʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʐən⁵¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: jam⁶
    • Yale: yahm
    • Cantonese Pinyin: jam⁶
    • Guangdong Romanization: yem⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /jɐm²²/
  • (Taishanese, Taicheng)
    • Wiktionary: ngim⁵
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ᵑɡim³²/
• Hakka
  • (Northern Sixian, incl. Miaoli)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: yim / ngim
    • Hakka Romanization System: im / ngim
    • Hagfa Pinyim: yim⁴ / ngim⁴
    • Sinological IPA: /im⁵⁵/, /ɲim⁵⁵/
  • (Southern Sixian, incl. Meinong)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: yim / ngim
    • Hakka Romanization System: (r)im / ngim
    • Hagfa Pinyim: yim⁴ / ngim⁴
    • Sinological IPA: /(j)im⁵⁵/, /ɲim⁵⁵/
  • (Meixian)
    • Guangdong: yim⁴
    • Sinological IPA: /im⁵³/
• Min Dong
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: êng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɛiŋ²⁴²/
• Min Nan
  • (Hokkien: Quanzhou, Taipei, Xiamen)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: līm
    • Tâi-lô: līm
    • Phofsit Daibuun: lim
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /lim⁴¹/
    • IPA (Xiamen): /lim²²/
    • IPA (Taipei): /lim³³/
  • (Hokkien: Kaohsiung, Zhangzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: jīm
    • Tâi-lô: jīm
    • Phofsit Daibuun: jim
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /d͡ʑim²²/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /ʑim³³/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: rim⁶ / rim⁷
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: jĭm / jīm
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /d͡zim³⁵/, /d͡zim¹¹/
• Wu
  • (Shanghainese)
    • Wugniu: ⁶zen
    • Wiktionary Romanisation: ³zen
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /zən²³/

Note: literary.

---

• Dialectal data

Variety	Location	edit 任 (責任)
Mandarin	Beijing	/ʐən⁵¹/
	Harbin	/ʐən⁵³/
	Tianjin	/in⁵³/ /ʐən⁵³/
	Jinan	/ʐẽ²¹/
	Qingdao	/iə̃⁴²/
	Zhengzhou	/ʐən³¹²/
	Xi'an	/ʐẽ⁴⁴/
	Xining	/ʐə̃²¹³/
	Yinchuan	/ʐəŋ¹³/
	Lanzhou	/ʐə̃n¹³/
	Ürümqi	/ʐɤŋ²¹³/
	Wuhan	/nən³⁵/
	Chengdu	/zən¹³/
	Guiyang	/zen²¹³/
	Kunming	/ʐə̃²¹²/
	Nanjing	/ʐən⁴⁴/
	Hefei	/ʐən⁵³/
Jin	Taiyuan	/zəŋ⁴⁵/
	Pingyao	/ʐəŋ³⁵/
	Hohhot	/ʐə̃ŋ⁵⁵/
Wu	Shanghai	/zəŋ²³/
	Suzhou	/zən³¹/
	Hangzhou	/zen¹³/
	Wenzhou	/zaŋ²²/
Hui	Shexian	/iʌ̃²²/
	Tunxi	/ian¹¹/
Xiang	Changsha	/ʐən⁵⁵/
	Xiangtan	/in⁵⁵/
Gan	Nanchang	/lɨn²¹/
Hakka	Meixian	/im⁵³/
	Taoyuan	/im⁵⁵/
Cantonese	Guangzhou	/jɐm²²/
	Nanning	/jɐm²²/
	Hong Kong	/jɐm²²/
Min	Xiamen (Min Nan)	/lim²²/
	Fuzhou (Min Dong)	/ɛiŋ²⁴²/
	Jian'ou (Min Bei)	/iŋ⁴⁴/
	Shantou (Min Nan)	/zim³⁵/ /zim³¹/
	Haikou (Min Nan)	/zim³³/

---

• Middle Chinese: nyimH

Rime
Character	任
Reading #	2/2
Initial (聲)	日 (38)
Final (韻)	侵 (139)
Tone (調)	Departing (H)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	III
Fanqie	汝鴆切
Baxter	nyimH
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/ȵiɪmH/
Pan Wuyun	/ȵimH/
Shao Rongfen	/ȵʑjemH/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/ȵimH/
Li Rong	/ȵiəmH/
Wang Li	/ȵʑĭĕmH/
Bernard Karlgren	/ȵʑi̯əmH/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	rèn
Expected Cantonese Reflex	jam6

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*n[ə]m-s/

  (Zhengzhang): /*njɯms/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	任
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	rèn
Middle Chinese	‹ nyimH ›
Old Chinese	/*n[ə]m-s/
English	burden; charge (n.)
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p; * Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	任
Reading #	2/2
No.	10823
Phonetic component	壬
Rime group	侵
Rime subdivision	1
Corresponding MC rime	妊
Old Chinese	/*njɯms/

Definitions

任

1. to carry on a shoulder pole; to carry
2. to bear; to endure; to put up with
3. to take charge of; to assume the post of; to be in charge of
4. to trust to; to rely on; to believe; to guarantee
5. to appoint; to assign someone to a post
6. to indulge; to be self-indulgent; to allow
   • 放任  ―  fàngrèn  ―  to indulge
7. load; burden; luggage; baggage
8. duty; responsibility; obligation
   • 任務／任务  ―  rènwù  ―  task; mission
9. tenure; term of office; incumbency
   • 現任／现任  ―  xiànrèn  ―  to be currently serving as; incumbent
   • 前任  ―  qiánrèn  ―  predecessor
   • 繼任／继任  ―  jìrèn  ―  successor
10. office; post; position
11. officeholder; postholder
12. even if; even though
13. no matter how; regardless of
14. Classifier for terms of office.

Compounds

• 一任 (yīrèn)
• 一身二任
• 上任 (shàngrèn)
• 不任 (bùrèn)
• 不信任案
• 主任 (zhǔrèn)
• 主任委員／主任委员
• 任人
• 任意 (rènyì)
• 信任 (xìnrèn)
• 信任投票 (xìnrèn tóupiào)
• 信任狀／信任状
• 充任 (chōngrèn)
• 兼任 (jiānrèn)
• 出任 (chūrèn)
• 刑事責任／刑事责任 (xíngshì zérèn)
• 到任 (dàorèn)
• 前任 (qiánrèn)
• 力不勝任／力不胜任
• 力微任重
• 勝任／胜任 (shèngrèn)
• 勝任愉快／胜任愉快
• 勢任／势任
• 升任 (shēngrèn)
• 卸任 (xièrèn)
• 原任
• 可任
• 叨任
• 器任
• 國際責任／国际责任
• 在任 (zàirèn)
• 大任
• 委任 (wěirèn)
• 委任狀／委任状
• 委任直選／委任直选
• 委任立法
• 委任統治／委任统治
• 寵任／宠任
• 專任／专任 (zhuānrèn)
• 就任 (jiùrèn)
• 常任 (chángrèn)
• 後任／后任 (hòurèn)
• 得權重任／得权重任 (dé quán zhòngrèn)
• 復任／复任
• 承任
• 接任 (jiērèn)
• 推賢任人／推贤任人
• 撤任
• 擔任／担任 (dānrèn)
• 放任 (fàngrèn)
• 放任自流
• 放任行為／放任行为
• 政治責任／政治责任
• 放蕩任氣／放荡任气
• 教務主任／教务主任
• 新任 (xīnrèn)
• 會任之家／会任之家
• 柄任
• 棟梁之任／栋梁之任
• 歷任／历任 (lìrèn)
• 民事責任／民事责任 (mínshì zérèn)
• 治任
• 派任 (pàirèn)
• 無任／无任 (wúrèn)
• 無任之祿／无任之禄
• 燮和之任
• 特任
• 猥當大任／猥当大任
• 現任／现任 (xiànrèn)
• 用賢任能／用贤任能
• 留任 (liúrèn)
• 眾怒難任／众怒难任
• 矜己任智
• 知人善任 (zhīrénshànrèn)
• 科任 (kērèn)
• 科任老師／科任老师
• 簡任／简任
• 級任／级任 (jírèn)
• 級任制／级任制
• 級任導師／级任导师
• 級任老師／级任老师
• 繼任／继任 (jìrèn)
• 續任／续任 (xùrèn)
• 聘任 (pìnrèn)
• 聘任制
• 職任／职任
• 聽之任之／听之任之 (tīngzhīrènzhī)
• 聽任／听任 (tīngrèn)
• 聽天任命／听天任命 (tīngtiānrènmìng)
• 膺任
• 自由放任 (zìyóufàngrèn)
• 致遠任重／致远任重
• 舉賢任能／举贤任能
• 荐任
• 蒞任／莅任 (lìrèn)
• 薦任／荐任
• 薦賢任能／荐贤任能
• 親任／亲任
• 解任 (jiěrèn)
• 調任／调任 (diàorèn)
• 負才任氣／负才任气
• 責任／责任 (zérèn)
• 責任事故／责任事故
• 責任保險／责任保险 (zérèn bǎoxiǎn)
• 責任內閣／责任内阁
• 責任制／责任制 (zérènzhì)
• 責任感／责任感 (zérèngǎn)
• 走馬上任／走马上任
• 走馬之任／走马之任
• 走馬到任／走马到任
• 走馬赴任／走马赴任
• 赴任 (fùrèn)
• 輕財任俠／轻财任侠
• 轉任／转任
• 連任／连任 (liánrèn)
• 連帶責任／连带责任
• 連階累任／连阶累任
• 進賢任能／进贤任能
• 道義責任／道义责任
• 道遠任重／道远任重
• 適任／适任 (shìrèn)
• 選任／选任 (xuǎnrèn)
• 選賢任能／选贤任能
• 重任 (zhòngrèn)
• 重責大任／重责大任
• 離任／离任 (lírèn)
• 難任／难任
• 難當重任／难当重任
• 非異人任／非异人任 (fēiyìrénrèn)
• 革職留任／革职留任
• 高下任心

 

Pronunciation 2

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): rén (ren²)

  (Zhuyin): ㄖㄣˊ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): jam⁴, jam⁶
• Min Nan

  (Hokkien, POJ): lîm / jîm

  (Teochew, Peng'im): rim⁶

• Wu (Wugniu)
  • (Shanghainese): ⁶gnin

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: rén
    • Zhuyin: ㄖㄣˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: rén
    • Wade–Giles: jên²
    • Yale: rén
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: ren
    • Palladius: жэнь (žɛnʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʐən³⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: jam⁴, jam⁶
    • Yale: yàhm, yahm
    • Cantonese Pinyin: jam⁴, jam⁶
    • Guangdong Romanization: yem⁴, yem⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /jɐm²¹/, /jɐm²²/

Note:

• jam4 - prescribed;
• jam6 - variant.

Min Nan

• (Hokkien: Quanzhou, Xiamen)
  • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: lîm
  • Tâi-lô: lîm
  • Phofsit Daibuun: liim
  • IPA (Quanzhou, Xiamen): /lim²⁴/
• (Hokkien: Zhangzhou)
  • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: jîm
  • Tâi-lô: jîm
  • Phofsit Daibuun: jiim
  • IPA (Zhangzhou): /d͡ʑim¹³/
• (Teochew)
  • Peng'im: rim⁶
  • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: jĭm
  • Sinological IPA ^(key): /d͡zim³⁵/

Wu

• (Shanghainese)
  • Wugniu: ⁶gnin
  • Wiktionary Romanisation: ³nyin
  • Sinological IPA ^(key): /n̠ʲin²³/

Note: vernacular (“surname”).

---

• Dialectal data

Variety	Location	edit 任 (姓任)
Mandarin	Beijing	/ʐən³⁵/
	Harbin	/ʐən²⁴/
	Tianjin	/in⁴⁵/ /ʐən⁴⁵/
	Jinan	/ʐẽ⁴²/
	Qingdao	/iə̃⁴²/
	Zhengzhou	/ʐən⁴²/
	Xi'an	/ʐẽ²⁴/
	Xining	/ʐə̃²⁴/
	Yinchuan	/ʐəŋ⁵³/
	Lanzhou	/ʐə̃n⁵³/
	Ürümqi	/ʐɤŋ⁵¹/
	Wuhan	/nən²¹³/
	Chengdu	/zən³¹/
	Guiyang	/zen²¹/
	Kunming	/ʐə̃³¹/
	Nanjing	/ʐən²⁴/
	Hefei	/ʐən⁵⁵/
Jin	Taiyuan	/zəŋ¹¹/
	Pingyao	/ʐəŋ¹³/
	Hohhot	/ʐə̃ŋ³¹/
Wu	Shanghai	/ȵiŋ²³/ /zəŋ²³/
	Suzhou	/ȵin¹³/
	Hangzhou	/zen²¹³/
	Wenzhou	/ȵaŋ³¹/
Hui	Shexian	/iʌ̃²²/
	Tunxi	/ian¹¹/
Xiang	Changsha	/ʐən¹³/
	Xiangtan	/in⁵⁵/
Gan	Nanchang
Hakka	Meixian	/im⁵³/
	Taoyuan
Cantonese	Guangzhou	/jɐm²¹/
	Nanning	/jɐm²²/
	Hong Kong	/jɐm²¹/
Min	Xiamen (Min Nan)	/lim³⁵/
	Fuzhou (Min Dong)	/iŋ⁵³/
	Jian'ou (Min Bei)	/iŋ²¹/
	Shantou (Min Nan)	/zim³⁵/
	Haikou (Min Nan)	/zim³⁵/

---

• Middle Chinese: nyim

Rime
Character	任
Reading #	1/2
Initial (聲)	日 (38)
Final (韻)	侵 (139)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	III
Fanqie	如林切
Baxter	nyim
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/ȵiɪm/
Pan Wuyun	/ȵim/
Shao Rongfen	/ȵʑjem/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/ȵim/
Li Rong	/ȵiəm/
Wang Li	/ȵʑĭĕm/
Bernard Karlgren	/ȵʑi̯əm/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	rén
Expected Cantonese Reflex	jam4

• Old Chinese

  (Zhengzhang): /*njɯm/

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	任
Reading #	1/2
No.	10808
Phonetic component	壬
Rime group	侵
Rime subdivision	1
Corresponding MC rime	任
Old Chinese	/*njɯm/

Definitions

任

1. (historical) an ancient woman's rank of nobility
2. (historical) an ancient music of the southern indigenous people
3. ^† Alternative form of 壬 (rén, “artful; fawning”)
4. a surname

   任弼時／任弼时  ―  Rén Bìshí  ―  Ren Bishi (military and political leader in the early Chinese Communist Party)

Compounds

• 任丘 (Rénqiū)
• 任人 (rénrén)
• 任澤／任泽 (Rénzé)
• 任縣／任县 (Rén Xiàn)
• 任莊／任庄 (Rénzhuāng)

 

Japanese

Kanji

任

(grade 5 “Kyōiku” kanji)

1. responsibility
2. duty
3. term
4. entrust to
5. appoint

Readings

• Go-on: にん (nin, 任)^{←にん (nin, 任, historical)←にむ (nimu, 任, ancient)}
• Kan-on: じん (jin, 任)^{←じん (zin, 任, historical)←じむ (zimu, 任, ancient)}
• Kun: たえる (taeru, 任える); まかす (makasu, 任す, Jōyō); まかせる (makaseru, 任せる, Jōyō); まき (maki, 任); まく (maku, 任く); まけ (make, 任); まま (mama, 任)
• Nanori: さ (sa, 任); たえ (tae, 任); たか (taka, 任); たかし (takashi, 任); ただ (tada, 任); たね (tane, 任); たもつ (tamotsu, 任); と (to, 任); とう (tō, 任); ひで (hide, 任)

Compounds

• 責(せき)任(にん) (sekinin)
• 委(い)任(にん) (inin)
• 解(かい)任(にん) (kainin)
• 無(む)責(せき)任(にん) (musekinin)
• 専(せん)任(にん) (sennin)
• 信(しん)任(にん) (shinnin)
• 任(にん)天(てん)堂(どう) (nintendō)
• 任(にん)命(めい) (ninmei)
• 任(にん)務(む) (ninmu)

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
任
にん Grade: 5
goon

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ɲ̟ĩɴ]

Noun

任(にん) • (nin) 

1. duty, responsibility, obligation

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
任
まき Grade: 5
kun’yomi

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ma̠kʲi]

Noun

任(まき) • (maki) 

This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

Etymology 3

Kanji in this term
任
まけ Grade: 5
kun’yomi

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ma̠ke̞]

Noun

任(まけ) • (make) 

This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

Etymology 4

For pronunciation and definitions of 任 – see the following entry.

【儘まま】H [noun] the same, unchanged state; state as it is [noun] (mostly in the form 儘になる (mama ni naru)) the desired or ideal state; freedom [noun] act of leaving things as it is Alternative spellings 随, 侭, まんま

(This term, 任, is an alternative spelling of the above term.)

Korean

Hanja

任 (eumhun 맡길 임 (matgil im))

1. Hanja form^? of 임 (“duty; responsibility”).

Compounds

• 상임 (常任, sang'im)
• 책임 (責任, chaegim)

 

Vietnamese

Han character

任: Hán Việt readings: nhậm, nhiệm, nhâm
任: Nôm readings: nhậm, nhằm, nhiệm, nhầm, nhẩm, nhăm, nhặm, vững

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.