主任 meaning in English

zhǔrèn

director; head

HSK 3noun11 strokes

Meaning of 主任

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

zhǔrèn

director
head

Measure word: 個|个

How to use 主任

主任 is used for the head of a department, office, or committee, such as a school's 班主任 (bānzhǔrèn, homeroom teacher) or a hospital department head. It often works as a title after a surname. Example: 王主任今天不在办公室。(Wáng zhǔrèn jīntiān bú zài bàngōngshì.) Director Wang is not in the office today.

主 (zhǔ) means main or in charge, and 任 (rèn) means a post or duty, as in 任务 (rènwu). The person who holds the main post in an office is the 主任 (zhǔrèn), the director or head.

Common mistake: Learners often mix up 主任 (zhǔrèn, director) with 主人 (zhǔrén, owner or host). The second syllables differ in tone and character: 任 is fourth tone, 人 is second tone.

主任 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

在zài主zhǔ任rèn不bù在zài的de时shí候hòu，办bàn公gōng室shì由yóu谁shuí来lái负fù责zé？

Who is in charge of the office while the boss is away?

他tā以yǐ前qián是shì教jiào授shòu，后hòu来lái当dāng了le系xì主zhǔ任rèn。

He used to be a professor, but now he is the dean.

我wǒ遇yù见jiàn了le以yǐ前qián的de班bān主zhǔ任rèn时shí，他tā问wèn候hòu了le我wǒ的de父fù母mǔ。

When I met my former teacher, he inquired after my parents.

穆mù勒lēi先xiān生shēng是shì我wǒ儿ér子zi汤tāng姆mǔ的de班bān主zhǔ任rèn。

Mr Miller is my son Tom's form teacher.

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

主 zhǔ · owner · 5 strokes

任 rèn · to assign · 6 strokes

Related words

Words that share a character with 主任.

主人	zhǔrén	owner; host
主要	zhǔyào	main; principal; major; primary
任何	rènhé	any; whatever; whichever
主意	zhǔyi	plan; idea
任务	rènwu	mission; assignment; task; duty; role
信任	xìnrèn	to trust; to have confidence in
责任	zérèn	responsibility; duty; liability
主动	zhǔdòng	to take the initiative; to do sth of one's own accord
主持	zhǔchí	to take charge of; to manage or direct
主张	zhǔzhāng	to advocate; to stand for
自主	zìzhǔ	to act independently; to be autonomous; to be in control of one's own affairs
主席	zhǔxí	chairperson; premier

Questions about 主任

What does 主任 mean?

主任 (zhǔrèn) means "director; head" and is used as a noun.

How do you write 主任?

主任 is made of 2 characters: 主 (5 strokes), 任 (6 strokes). That is 11 strokes in total.

Is 主任 an HSK word?

Yes. 主任 is on the HSK 3 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

What is the difference between 主任 and 经理 (jīnglǐ)?

主任 usually heads a department or office, often in schools, hospitals, and government units. 经理 is a manager, more common in companies and business settings.

Can I address someone directly as 主任?

Yes. It is polite to call someone by surname plus title, such as 李主任 (Lǐ zhǔrèn), instead of using their full name.