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交代 (jiāo dài) — to hand over (duties, work) to a successor; to give instructions; to tell (someone to do something); to confess; to account for oneself; to explain clearly

Definition

交代 covers three distinct senses: handing over work to a successor (formal; cf. 移交), giving someone instructions or orders, and confessing/explaining (cf. 坦白 'to confess').

verb
to hand over (duties, work) to a successorto give instructionsto tell (someone to do something)to confessto account for oneselfto explain clearly
Easily confused

Examples

  • 交代。
    Tā tuì xiū qián bǎ gōng zuò dōu jiāo dài qīng chǔ le.
    He handed over all the work clearly before retiring.
  • 交代。
    Lǎo bǎn jiāo dài tā míng tiān qù jī chǎng jiē kè hù.
    The boss told him to go to the airport tomorrow to pick up a client.
  • ，交代。
    Zài fǎ tíng shàng, tā bù dé bù jiāo dài zì jǐ de zuì xíng.
    In court, he had to confess his crime.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

交jiāohand over
代dàireplace

“交” conveys handing over and “代” replacing, together describing passing duties to someone else.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

交 originally drew a human with crossed legs. In the modern shape, the upper part resembles a standing person.

Open 交 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
亻Written in full as人rénperson
Sound part声符shēngfú
弋
弋yì代dài
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 代, 亻 shows a person, and 弋 gives the sound.

Open 代 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Communication & SpeechWorkplace & Office

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