任 (rèn) · to appoint, to let, to allow

Meanings

1 to appoint
2 to let
3 to allow
4 measure word for terms of office and successive office holders or spouses

Characters

任

rèn

to assign; to appoint; to allow; office

Examples

HSK 4

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.

HSK 5

她是这所学校的第三任校长。

Tā shì zhè suǒ xuéxiào de dìsān rèn xiàozhǎng.

She is the third principal of this school.

HSK 5

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).