委托人 (wěi tuō rén) — principal (in a transaction, e.g., authorizing… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

委托人 is the person who authorises someone else (an agent or 代理人) to act on their behalf in legal, business, or service matters. It denotes the role of the one giving the commission, not the one receiving it.

noun

principal (in a transaction, e.g., authorizing an agent)client (who commissions a service)

Measure word · 位

Examples

委托人。
wěi tuō rén Zài hé tong shàng qiān le zì.
The principal signed the contract.
委托人。
Lǜ shī bì xū bǎo hù wěi tuō rén de lì yì.
The lawyer must protect the client's interests.
委托人。
Zhè wèi wěi tuō rén wěi tuō wǒ men chū shòu fáng chǎn.
This client has commissioned us to sell the property.

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.

委托entrust

委wěientrust托tuōentrust

联合Coordinate

委 and 托 both mean entrust; with 人 they denote a person who entrusts a task.

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.

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

The shape of 人 shows a side view of a standing person, with an arm and a leg.

Appears in

Business & Commerce 5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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