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主任 (zhǔ rèn) — director, head (of an office, department, or committee)

Definition

主任 is the head of an administrative office or department (e.g. 办公室主任). 经理 is a business manager; 导演 directs films or shows.

noun
directorhead (of an office, department, or committee)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 主任。
    Wǒ men zhǔ rèn jīn tiān bú zài bàn gōng shì.
    Our director is not in the office today.
  • 主任。
    Xīn lái de zhǔ rèn xìng lǐ.
    The new director's surname is Li.
  • 主任？
    Qǐng wèn zhǔ rèn de bàn gōng shì zài jǐ lóu?
    Excuse me, which floor is the director's office on?

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

主zhǔtake charge
任rènpost

主 means take charge and 任 means post, making someone who takes charge of a post.

Characters in this word

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

The old forms that became 主 showed a lamp or torch with a flame at the top; other forms showed wood on fire or a spirit tablet.

Open 主 →

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 →
Appears in
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