任

See also: 仟 and 件

任	U+4EFB, 任 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-4EFB

← 仺
[U+4EFA]

CJK Unified Ideographs

仼 →
[U+4EFC]

Translingual[edit]

Stroke order

Han character[edit]

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

Derived characters[edit]

姙, 㤛, 拰, 㳝, 栣, 𭴞, 𭹆, 秹, 絍(𫟃), 袵, 䛘(𬣯), 銋, 餁, 荏, 䇮, 𫕤, 凭, 𫶭, 恁, 栠, 㶵, 𬓧, 䋕, 賃(赁), 䣸, 鵀(𬸊)

References[edit]

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

Chinese[edit]

trad.		任
simp. ^#		任

Glyph origin[edit]

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 that was rotated for 90 degrees.

Pronunciation 1[edit]

Mandarin
(Pinyin): rèn (ren⁴)

(Zhuyin): ㄖㄣˋ
Cantonese (Jyutping): jam⁶
Hakka (Sixian, PFS): yim / ngim
Min Dong (BUC): êng
Min Nan (POJ): līm / jīm
Wu (Wiktionary): zen (T3)

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Pinyin: rèn
  - Zhuyin: ㄖㄣˋ
  - Wade–Giles: jên⁴
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: renn
  - IPA ^(key): /ʐən⁵¹/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
  - Jyutping: jam⁶
  - Yale: yahm
  - Cantonese Pinyin: jam⁶
  - Guangdong Romanization: yem⁶
  - IPA ^(key): /jɐm²²/
Hakka
- (Northern Sixian, incl. Miaoli)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: yim / ngim
  - Hakka Romanization System: im / ngim
  - Hagfa Pinyim: yim⁴ / ngim⁴
  - IPA: /im⁵⁵/, /ɲim⁵⁵/
- (Southern Sixian, incl. Meinong)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: yim / ngim
  - Hakka Romanization System: (r)im / ngim
  - Hagfa Pinyim: yim⁴ / ngim⁴
  - IPA: /(j)im⁵⁵/, /ɲim⁵⁵/
Min Dong
- (Fuzhou)
  - Bàng-uâ-cê: êng
  - 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/
Wu
- (Shanghainese)
  - Wiktionary: zen (T3)
  - IPA ^(key): /z̻əɲ²³/

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/
Hui	Tunxi	/ian¹¹/
Xiang	Changsha	/ʐən⁵⁵/
Xiang	Xiangtan	/in⁵⁵/
Gan	Nanchang	/lɨn²¹/
Hakka	Meixian	/im⁵³/
Hakka	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: /ȵiɪm^H/▼

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
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/ȵiɪm^H/
Pan Wuyun	/ȵim^H/
Shao Rongfen	/ȵʑjem^H/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/ȵim^H/
Li Rong	/ȵiəm^H/
Wang Li	/ȵʑĭĕm^H/
Bernard Karlgren	/ȵʑi̯əm^H/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	rèn

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	‹ nyim^H ›
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[edit]

任

to carry on a shoulder pole; to carry
to bear; to endure; to put up with
to take charge of; to assume the post of; to be in charge of
to trust to; to rely on; to believe; to guarantee
to appoint; to assign someone to a post
to indulge; to be self-indulgent; to allow
load; burden; luggage; baggage
duty; responsibility; obligation
tenure; term of office; incumbency
office; post; position
officeholder; postholder
even if; even though
no matter how; regardless of
Classifier for terms of office.

Compounds[edit]

Derived terms from 任

一任
一身二任
上任 (shàngrèn)
不任
不信任案
主任 (zhǔrèn)
主任委員／主任委员
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
叨任
可任
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

Pronunciation 2[edit]

Mandarin
(Pinyin): rén (ren²)

(Zhuyin): ㄖㄣˊ
Cantonese (Jyutping): jam⁴
Min Nan (POJ): lîm / jîm
Wu (Wiktionary): nyin (T3)

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Pinyin: rén
  - Zhuyin: ㄖㄣˊ
  - Wade–Giles: jên²
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: ren
  - IPA ^(key): /ʐən³⁵/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
  - Jyutping: jam⁴
  - Yale: yàhm
  - Cantonese Pinyin: jam⁴
  - Guangdong Romanization: yem⁴
  - IPA ^(key): /jɐm²¹/
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/
Wu
- (Shanghainese)
  - Wiktionary: nyin (T3)
  - IPA ^(key): /n̠ʲɪɲ²³/

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/
Hui	Tunxi	/ian¹¹/
Xiang	Changsha	/ʐən¹³/
Xiang	Xiangtan	/in⁵⁵/
Gan	Nanchang
Hakka	Meixian	/im⁵³/
Hakka	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: /ȵiɪm/▼

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
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

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[edit]

任

(historical) an ancient woman's rank of nobility
(historical) an ancient music of the southern indigenous people
^† Alternative form of 壬 (rén, “artful”).
A surname.

Japanese[edit]

Kanji[edit]

Readings[edit]

Goon: にん (nin, Jōyō)^{←にん (nin, historical)}^{←にむ (nimu, ancient)}
Kan’on: じん (jin)^{←じん (zin, historical)}^{←じむ (zimu, ancient)}
Kun: まかす (makasu, 任す, Jōyō); まかせる (makaseru, 任せる, Jōyō); になう (ninau, 任う); たえる (taeru, 任える)
Nanori: さ (sa); とう (tō); ひで (hide)

Compounds[edit]

Noun[edit]

任 (hiragana にん, rōmaji nin)

duty, responsibility, obligation

Korean[edit]

Hanja[edit]

任 • (im) (hangeul 임, revised yim, McCune–Reischauer im)

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

Vietnamese[edit]

Han character[edit]

任 (nhậm, nhẩm, nhầm, nhiệm, nhâm, nhăm, nhặm, vững)

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

References[edit]

Nom Foundation

任

Contents

Translingual[edit]

Han character[edit]

Derived characters[edit]

References[edit]

Chinese[edit]

Glyph origin[edit]

Pronunciation 1[edit]

Definitions[edit]

Compounds[edit]

Pronunciation 2[edit]

Definitions[edit]

Japanese[edit]

Kanji[edit]

Readings[edit]

Compounds[edit]

Noun[edit]

Korean[edit]

Hanja[edit]

Vietnamese[edit]

Han character[edit]

References[edit]

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