任期 (rèn qī) — term of office; tenure | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

term of officetenure

Measure word · 届

Examples

任期。
Tā de rèn qī shì sì nián.
His term of office is four years.
任期。
Zhè wèi xiào zhǎng de rèn qī míng nián jié shù.
This principal's term ends next year.
任期。
Gōng sī jīng lǐ de rèn qī yǐ jīng yán cháng le.
The company manager's tenure has been extended.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

期qīperiod

任 refers to an office or appointment, 期 to its period, together meaning term of office.

Characters in this word

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

亻壬任

Meaning part形符xíngfú

亻Written in full as人rénperson

Sound part声符shēngfú

壬

壬rén任rèn

Same sound today

任 pairs 亻, a person, with 壬, which may picture a shoulder pole turned sideways.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

其

其qí期qī

Same sound today

The original form paired 其 for its sound with 日 (sun). A related form changed that sun to 月, and this later developed into 期.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Workplace & Office

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