甘当 (gān dāng) — to willingly accept (a role, duty, or penalty)

Definition

甘当 (gān dāng) means to willingly take on an unpleasant or humble role — it pairs with nouns like 重任, 配角, or 人梯 to stress accepting without complaint.

verb

to willingly accept (a role, duty, or penalty)

甘当，。
Tā gān dāng zhòng rèn, dài lǐng tuán duì zǒu chū kùn jìng.
He willingly took on the heavy responsibility and led the team out of difficulty.
甘当，。
Zhè wèi lǎo shī gān dāng rén tī, péi yǎng le xǔ duō yōu xiù xué shēng.
This teacher willingly served as a stepping stone, nurturing many outstanding students.
甘当，。
Tā gān dāng pèi jué, cóng bú bào yuàn.
He willingly accepted a supporting role and never complained.

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.

甘gānwillingly

当dāngaccept/serve

甘 adds willingness to 当, meaning accept or serve willingly.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

甘 originally drew an open mouth with something sweet inside it. This gives the sense of sweet or pleasant.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 當; 当 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

尚

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 當 combines 田 (field) with 尚; the evidence describes fields facing each other.