承担
chéngdān · HSK 4
undertake
🤝 承 = receive/carry + 担 = shoulder a load; together: shoulder responsibility
承 means to receive or bear from above; 担 originally meant a carrying pole across the shoulders. Combined, 承担 is the act of taking a burden onto yourself — accepting duty, blame, or cost.
担 — hand radical 扌 + 詹 (zhān, phonetic)
担 is a semantic-phonetic compound: 扌 (hand) gives the meaning of carrying or shouldering, while 詹 supplies the sound. Originally written 擔, it depicted bearing a load on a shoulder pole; 担 is the simplified form. Meanings extended from physical carrying to bearing responsibility.