任 (rèn): to appoint

Meanings

1 to appoint
2 to let
3 to allow

Characters

任

rèn

to assign; to appoint; to allow; office

Examples

他被任为新经理。

Tā bèi rèn wéi xīn jīnglǐ.

He was appointed as the new manager.

任你怎么说，我都不会改变主意。

Rèn nǐ zěnme shuō, wǒ dōu bù huì gǎibiàn zhǔyi.

No matter what you say, I won't change my mind.

他连任了两届总统。

Tā liánrèn le liǎng jiè zǒngtǒng.

He served two consecutive terms as president.

Tips

usage

任 has two main uses: a verb meaning 'to appoint / serve as' (任命, 担任), and an adverb meaning 'no matter' (任凭, 任由).

register

任 is also a surname, where it is read Rén in the second tone (as in Huawei founder 任正非). The verb and adverb senses are always fourth-tone rèn; the second tone only appears for the family name.

Components

radical

亻 rén

person (left-side form)

Left person radical 亻, the standing-figure form of 人. It carries the meaning core: a duty or office is something laid on a person. Same radical anchors 你, 他, 体, the whole body of human-action characters.

phonetic

壬 rén

ninth heavenly stem; load on a shoulder pole

Right component supplies the sound: 壬 to rèn, just a tone shift. Originally 壬 depicted a person carrying a load on a shoulder pole, so it doubles as a faint semantic clue, bearing a burden, exactly the metaphor behind taking on duties. Same phonetic in 妊 (pregnant).