任命
rèn mìng · HSK 7
appointment
📜 任命 = 任 appoint/entrust + 命 command/order — naming someone to a post by official order
任 carries the sense of entrust or assign duty; 命 means command or decree. Together they form the formal act of appointing someone to a job by an official order, which is why the listed measure word is 纸 (a sheet of paper).
任 — person radical 亻 + 壬 (phonetic)
任 combines the person radical 亻 with 壬, which supplies the sound. The original sense centered on a person bearing a load or burden, which extended naturally to 'carrying responsibility,' 'duty,' and 'to appoint someone to a post.' Modern uses like 任务 (task) and 责任 (responsibility) preserve this core idea.
命 — 亼 (gather) + 卩 (kneeling person) + 口 (mouth)
Originally depicted a kneeling figure receiving an oral command from above, combining 令 (order) with an added 口 (mouth) for emphasis. The image of authority issuing decrees extended from 'command' to 'mandate' and then 'destiny, life,' as one's fate was seen as decreed by Heaven.