担负 (dān fù) — to shoulder, to bear, to undertake (responsibil…

Definition

Formal written verb for shouldering a duty, cost, or task. Stronger and more literary than 承担; pairs with abstract nouns like 责任 and 费用.

verb

to shoulderto bearto undertake (responsibility, costs, or tasks)

担负。
Tā dān fù le jiào yù hái zi de zé rèn.
She shoulders the responsibility of educating the children.
担负。
Zhè ge xiàng mù yóu tā dān fù zhǔ yào fèi yòng.
This project's main costs are being borne by him.
担负。
Měi gè rén dōu yīng gāi dān fù zì jǐ de cuò wù.
Everyone should bear their own mistakes.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

担 and 负 both mean to carry, giving the sense of shouldering 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.

扌旦担

Meaning part形符xíngfú

扌Written in full as手shǒuhand

Sound part声符shēngfú

旦

Same sound today

In 担, the left part 扌 is the hand, showing that the action involves using the hand. The right part 旦 shows how it sounds.

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.

Appears in