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.
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