任 (rèn): task, to appoint
任 (rèn) is a Chinese character meaning “task, to appoint.” Classified as HSK Level 4 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 亻 (semantic) and 壬 (phonetic). It ranks #186 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 任 person. Its radical form 亻 (person) appears in many related characters such as 人 (rén, person), 什 (shén, what), 今 (jīn, now).
Definitions
- task, to appoint
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 任 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 任
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 任何pronoun | rèn hé | any | 4 |
| 任务noun | rèn wu | mission | 4 |
| 信任verb | xìn rèn | to trust | 5 |
| 责任noun | zé rèn | responsibility | 4 |
| 主任noun | zhǔ rèn | director | 5 |
| 担任verb | dān rèn | to hold a governmental office or post | 5 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 前任 | qián rèn | predecessor |
| 胜任 | shèng rèn | qualified |
| 任命 | rèn mìng | to appoint |
| 任意 | rèn yì | any |
| 放任 | fàng rèn | to ignore |
| 任性 | rèn xìng | willful |
| 下任 | xià rèn | next office holder |
| 上任 | shàng rèn | to take office |
| 新任 | xīn rèn | newly-appointed |
| 任职 | rèn zhí | to hold a post |
| 现任 | xiàn rèn | to occupy a post currently |
| 任由 | rèn yóu | to let (sb do sth) |
| 任期 | rèn qī | term of office |
| 连任 | lián rèn | to continue in (a political) office |
| 重任 | zhòng rèn | heavy responsibility |
任 appears in 100 compound words: 43 as the first character, 54 as the last, and 3 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 任 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (13)
to be at the mercy of others; cannot but allow oneself to be trampled on by others
to appoint the virtuous and use the able (idiom); appointment on the basis of ability and integrity
to be at the mercy of others; cannot but allow oneself to be trampled on by others
Showing 12 of 13 idioms containing 任.
Example Sentences
他被任命为项目经理,负责协调各部门的工作。
Tā bèi rènmìng wéi xiàngmù jīnglǐ, fùzé xiétiáo gè bùmén de gōngzuò.
He was appointed as project manager, responsible for coordinating the work of various departments.
沙特阿拉伯前官员:任何对伊朗的军事打击都将是一场代价高昂的豪...
shā tè ā lā bó qián guān yuán : rèn hé duì yī lǎng de jūn shì dǎ jī dōu jiāng shì yī chǎng dài jià gāo áng de háo . . .
Former Saudi Arabian official: Any military strike on Iran will be a costly hero...
美贸易代表:尚无任何国家说退出关税协议
měi mào yì dài biǎo : shàng wú rèn hé guó jiā shuō tuì chū guān shuì xié yì
USTR: No country has said it has withdrawn from the tariff agreement
王楠出任内蒙古乒乓球队主教练
wáng 楠 chū rèn nèi méng gǔ pīng pāng qiú duì zhǔ jiào liàn
Wang Nan becomes head coach of Inner Mongolia table tennis team
苏翊鸣:能为中国代表团拿下首金,意义比任何事情都重..
sū 翊 míng néng wéi zhōng guó dài biǎo tuán ná xià shǒu jīn , yì yì bǐ rèn hé shì qíng dū chóng . .
Su Yiming: It means more than anything to get the first gold for the Chinese delegation...
伊朗总统:伊朗愿就其核工业和平性质接受任何形式核查
yī lǎng zǒng tǒng yī lǎng yuàn jiù qí hé gōng yè hé píng xìng zhì jiē shòu rèn hé xíng shì hé chá
Iranian President: Iran is willing to accept any form of verification regarding the peaceful nature of its nuclear industry.
你有任何淡啤酒吗?
Nǐ yǒu rènhé dànpí jiǔ ma?
Do you have any light beer?
你对任何药物过敏吗?
Nǐ duì rènhé yàowù guòmǐn ma?
Are you allergic to any medicine?
有任何给我的讯息吗?
Yǒu rènhé gěi wǒ de xùnxī ma?
Are there any messages for me?
你提供任何全日游吗?
Nǐ tígōng rènhé quán rì yóu ma?
Do you offer any all-day tours?
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 任 (rèn) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 任 have?
What is the radical of 任?
What are the components of 任?
What are common words containing 任?
What characters sound the same as 任 (rèn)?
Is 任 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 任 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear native pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.