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负责 (fù zé) — to be in charge of; to take responsibility for; conscientious; responsible

Definition

负责 covers both senses: as a verb, 'to be in charge of' a task (more formal than 管); as an adjective, 'conscientious / responsible' (similar to 本分, but 本分 is more about duty and proper role).

to be in charge ofto take responsibility forconscientiousresponsible

Examples

  • 负责。
    Wǒ fù zé dǎ sǎo fáng jiān.
    I am in charge of cleaning the room.
  • 负责。
    Tā shì yí gè hěn fù zé de yuán gōng.
    He is a very conscientious employee.
  • 负责。
    Nǐ yào duì zì jǐ de xíng wéi fù zé.
    You must take responsibility for your own actions.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

负fùbear
责zéresponsibility

负 means bear and 责 means responsibility, so the action is bearing responsibility.

Characters in this word

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 →

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 責; 责 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
貝貝bèicowry; money
Sound part声符shēngfú
朿
朿cì責zé
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 責 pairs 貝, cowry/money, with 朿 as the sound part; the simplified 责 is a later shorthand.

Open 责 →
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