任

2 readings · tap one to hear it

to assign; to appoint; to take up a post; office; responsibility; to let; to allow; to give free rein to; no matter (how, what etc); classifier for terms served in office, or for spouses, girlfriends etc (as in 前任男友)

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HSK 3.0: Level 3
Old HSK: Level 4
Strokes: 6
Radical: 人 +4
Structure: Left–right 左右
Traditional: 任
Common rank: #511
Unicode: U+4EFB

Sound it out + = · + =

Formation & memory

Break the character into parts you already know.

How 任 is formed

Phono-semantic compound (形声字)

亻 meaning “person” + 壬 sound ( rén )

Components 亻壬

How to remember it

appoint · Heisig RSH #853

人 person + porter

Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.

Words with 任

The most common words first — learning a character in context makes it stick.

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
任城区	Rèn chéng Qū	Rencheng, a district of Jining City 濟寧市\|济宁市[Ji3 ning2 Shi4], Shandong
走马上任	zǒu mǎ shàng rèn	(idiom) to take office; to assume a post
常任理事国	cháng rèn lǐ shì guó	permanent member state (of the UN Security Council)
放任自流	fàng rèn zì liú	to let sb do whatever they want; to indulge; to give free reins to; to let things slide; t…
任务管理器	rèn wu guǎn lǐ qì	(computing) task manager
任重而道远	rèn zhòng ér dào yuǎn	see 任重道遠\|任重道远[ren4 zhong4 dao4 yuan3]
任人	rèn rén	to appoint (sb to a post)
任一	rèn yī	any; either
任重道远	rèn zhòng dào yuǎn	a heavy load and a long road; fig. to bear heavy responsibilities through a long struggle …
无任	wú rèn	extremely (pleased, grateful etc)
不信任动议	bù xìn rèn dòng yì	motion of no confidence (against the government, in parliamentary debates)
任性	rèn xìng	willful; headstrong; unruly
任意球	rèn yì qiú	free kick (football); free throw (handball); free hit (field hockey)
多任务处理	duō rèn wu chǔ lǐ	multitasking (computing)
上任	shàng rèn	to take office; previous (incumbent); predecessor
任安	Rén Ān	Ren An (-c. 90 BC), Han Dynasty general, also called Ren Shaoqing 任少卿
任气	rèn qì	to act on impulse
可信任	kě xìn rèn	trusty
新官上任三把火	xīn guān shàng rèn sān bǎ huǒ	(of a newly appointed official) to make bold changes on assuming office (idiom)
下任	xià rèn	next office holder; next to serve

Sound family

Characters sharing the sound component 壬 — compare how they read.

Character	Pinyin	Meaning
壬 sound part	rén	9th heavenly stem
妊	rèn	to conceive; to be pregnant
衽	rèn	collar, lapel
饪	rèn	cooked food; to cook until well-done
纴	rèn	to lay warp, to weave; to stitch, to sew