大任 (dà rèn) — great responsibility, heavy burden, important mission

Definition

Literary/formal term for a weighty duty or mission, typically used for grand national or historical responsibilities rather than everyday tasks. Usually paired with verbs like 肩负 or 承担.

noun
great responsibilityheavy burdenimportant mission

Examples

  • 大任。
    Tā shēn zhī zì jǐ jiān fù de dà rèn.
    He fully understands the great responsibility that he shoulders.
  • 大任，。
    Tiān jiàng dà rèn yú sī rén, bì xiān kǔ qí xīn zhì.
    When Heaven is about to assign a great task to a person, it first makes his mind suffer.
  • 大任。
    Wán chéng zhè xiàng dà rèn xū yào quán tǐ chéng yuán de nǔ lì.
    Accomplishing this crucial mission requires the effort of all members.

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.

大dàgreat
任rènresponsibility

大任 joins 大 great and 任 responsibility, naming a heavy duty.

Characters in this word

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

The form 大 is a picture of a person standing and facing forward, not of someone stretching their arms.

Open 大 →

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
壬
壬rén任rèn
Same sound today

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

Open 任 →

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