任

rèn

trust to, rely on, appoint; duty, office; allow

Meaning

Appointment and Office: To appoint, commission, or entrust with a post (verb); an office, duty, or term of service (noun).
Trust and Reliance: To rely on or trust someone, typically in a functional capacity.
Permission and Acquiescence: To allow, let, or leave as is; a surrender of control or decision not to intervene.

Grammar and usage

When used in the sense of "appoint," the glyph is typically transitive.
In the permissive sense ("allow"), it often functions as a modal or auxiliary verb introducing a subsequent action.

History and forms

Semantic variant: U+4EFC.

Graphical notes

The glyph centers on the act of bearing a load, evolving from physical carrying to the assumption of responsibility.

Translator notes

Visual Confusion: In early manuscripts or cursive hands, be alert to potential confusion with the celestial stem 壬 (rén). Context usually distinguishes between a date/cycle and an action of entrusting.
Translation Tip: When encountering this glyph, determine if the "weight" of the situation is being assigned (appointing), shared (relying), or released (allowing).

Decontextualized translator aid. This page describes plausible lexical range; it does not choose what the glyph means in a particular passage.