委托 (wěi tuō) — to entrust, to commission (someone to do someth… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

委托 is to formally commission or authorize someone to do a specific task on your behalf. Unlike 信任 ('to trust/confide in' a person), 委托 names a concrete delegated action, not a relationship of trust.

verb

to entrustto commission (someone to do something)

Examples

委托。
Wǒ wěi tuō lǐ lǜ shī chǔ lǐ zhè ge àn zi.
I entrusted Lawyer Li to handle this case.
委托。
Gōng sī wěi tuō wǒ men wán chéng shì chǎng diào chá.
The company commissioned us to complete the market research.
委托。
Nǐ kě yǐ wěi tuō yín háng dài jiǎo shuǐ diàn fèi.
You can authorize the bank to pay your utility bills on your behalf.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

委wěientrust

托tuōentrust

委 and 托 both mean hand over or entrust, so together they express commissioning someone.

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.

禾女委

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

禾

禾hé委wěi

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

委 has 女 under 禾. 女, a woman, is the meaning part, and 禾 gives the sound.

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

手手shǒuhand

Sound part声符shēngfú

乇

乇tuō托tuō

Same sound today

托 is built from 手 (hand) and 乇, which gives the sound tuō.

Appears in

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