担任
dānrèn · HSK 4
hold the post of
💼 担 = carry/shoulder + 任 = duty/role — shoulder the role
担 means to carry on the shoulder (扌hand radical + 旦); 任 means duty or office. Together: to shoulder a duty, i.e. hold a post or take charge of a responsibility.
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.
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.