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交待 (jiāo dāi) — to explain, to give an account; to confess (one's crimes or mistakes); to hand over, to entrust

Definition

交待 covers three distinct senses: explaining/clarifying (often to a superior), confessing (to authorities), and handing over a task. Sense choice is driven by context and the object: 情况/问题 for explanation, 罪行/错误 for confession, 工作/任务 for handover.

verb
to explainto give an accountto confess (one's crimes or mistakes)to hand overto entrust

Examples

  • 交待。
    Tā yǐ jīng bǎ quán bù qíng kuàng jiāo dāi qīng chǔ le.
    He has already explained the whole situation clearly.
  • ，交待。
    Zài jǐng chá miàn qián, tā lǎo lǎo shí shí dì jiāo dāi le zì jǐ de zuì xíng.
    In front of the police, he honestly confessed his crimes.
  • ，交待。
    Zǒu zhī qián, tā bǎ gōng zuò jiāo dāi gěi le zhù shǒu.
    Before leaving, he handed over the work to his assistant.

Origin

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
彳彳chì
Sound part声符shēngfú
寺
寺sì待dài
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

待 is built from 彳 on the left and 寺 on the right; 彳 is tied to the meaning, and 寺 gives the sound.

Open 待 →
Appears in
Communication & Speech

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