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充当 (chōng dāng) — to serve as, to act as, to play the role of

Definition

充当 means 'to serve as / act as' a role, often one you weren't originally meant for. Unlike 担任 (an official, expected post), 充当 suggests stepping into a role temporarily or unofficially.

verb
to serve asto act asto play the role of

Examples

  • 充当。
    Tā chōng dāng le gōng sī dài biǎo.
    He served as the company representative.
  • ，充当。
    Zài zhè cì huó dòng zhōng, tā chōng dāng zhǔ chí rén.
    In this event, she acted as the host.
  • 充当。
    Méi yǒu rén yuàn yì chōng dāng zhè ge xiàng mù de fù zé rén.
    No one is willing to serve as the person in charge of this project.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

充chōngfill
当dāngserve as

充 (fill) and 当 (serve as) together mean filling a role or acting as something.

Characters in this word

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

  • 𠫓𠫓𠫓a newborn
  • 儿儿érstanding person

充 pairs 𠫓, a newborn, with 儿, a standing person, to picture a newborn growing to stand.

Open 充 →

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
田田tiánfield
Sound part声符shēngfú
尚
尚shàng當dāng
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.

Open 当 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Social Roles & Status

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