責任
せきにん · sekinin · JLPT N3 · noun
responsibility
💼 責任 = 責 blame + 任 entrusted task: the job you answer for
責 means to blame or demand, as in 責める (semeru, to reproach). 任 means a task entrusted to you, as in 任せる (makaseru, to leave something to someone). A sound hook for sekinin is that you set it in: the duty is placed on you.
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.