Chinese word

肩负

Pronunciation

Pinyinjiān fù

Meaning

  • verbshoulder

Example

他肩负家庭的责任。tā jiān fù jiā tíng de zé rèn

He shoulders the responsibility for his family.

Illustration for 肩负 (shoulder)

More examples

作为国家领导人，他必须肩负历史责任。zuò wéi guó jiā líng dǎo rén tā bì xū jiān fù lì shǐ zé rèn

As a national leader, he must shoulder historical responsibility.

Core concept

Treats a duty as a load that a person deliberately takes onto the shoulders and continues to carry.

Common phrases

  • 肩负责任jiān fù zé rèn

    shoulder responsibility

  • 肩负重任jiān fù zhòng rèn

    shoulder a heavy responsibility

  • 肩负历史责任jiān fù lì shǐ zé rèn

    shoulder historical responsibility

Similar words

承担chéng dān: Take on responsibility for a duty, loss, expense, or obligation.
负责fù zé: Be in charge of handling a task or person and answer for the outcome.
负担fù dān: Carry the weight of a physical, mental, or financial burden.
担当dān dāng: Take responsibility for doing a particular job or fulfilling a role.

Definition in Chinese

表示把责任、任务等放在自己身上承担，强调主动承担某种职责。biǎo shì bǎ zé rèn rèn wù děng fàng zài zì jǐ shēn shàng chéng dān qiáng diào zhǔ dòng chéng dān móu zhǒng zhí zé

Word origin

The compound 肩 (jiān, "shoulder") + 负 (fù, "carry a burden") turns physical load-bearing into a picture of willingly carrying an assigned duty.

Usage tips

  • This verb often appears with abstract duties such as family responsibilities, work missions, or social roles, while physical objects are not its usual object.

Other meanings

  • bearverb
  • take onverb

Opposites

Word lists with this word