任せる
まかせる · makaseru · JLPT N3 · verb-ichidan
to entrust to another
🍣 As in omakase sushi: you leave the choice to the chef
Omakase (お任せ) is the polite noun form of 任せる: you leave the menu to the chef. The kanji 任 means duty or responsibility, as in 任務 (mission), so 任せる is handing your responsibility to someone else.
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.