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肩负 (jiān fù) — to shoulder, to bear (a burden, responsibility, or disadvantage)

Definition

肩负 is a formal, written verb for shouldering responsibility or mission. Compared with 担负 and 承担, it sounds weightier and is preferred in official or literary contexts.

verb
to shoulderto bear (a burden, responsibility, or disadvantage)

Examples

  • ，肩负。
    Zuò wéi duì zhǎng, tā jiān fù zhe dài lǐng quán duì de zhòng rèn.
    As the captain, he shoulders the heavy responsibility of leading the whole team.
  • 肩负。
    Gōng sī jiān fù zhe jù dà de zhài wù yā lì.
    The company bears enormous debt pressure.
  • 肩负肩负，。
    Tā cóng xiǎo jiān fù zhe jiān fù shī bài de hòu guǒ, réng rán jiān chí cháng shì.
    He bore the consequences of failure and still persisted in trying.

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.

肩jiānshoulder
负fùcarry

肩 gives the shoulder image, and 负 means to carry, so the idea is carrying a burden on the shoulder.

Characters in this word

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

肩 combines a shoulder shape with a flesh part to show a shoulder.

Open 肩 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 負; 负 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 負 combines 人 (person) and 貝 (cowry), with 人 written as ⺈; the simplified 负 is a later abbreviation.

Open 负 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Abstract Concepts

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