任 — “duty / entrust” in Japanese

Grade 5にん, まか

Radical ⼈ · radical 9 The building block this kanji is filed under

“duty / entrust” in Japanese is 任, read nin, maka (にん, まか). It is a Grade 5 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 5 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 責任 (responsibility).

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What does 任 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	任
Meaning	duty / entrust
Readings	にん, まか
Grade	Grade 5 (Hard)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	責任 (responsibility)

How to read 任

任 is read nin (にん) or maka (まか) depending on the word.

Words with 任

責任せきにん
赴任

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Kanji read the same way as 任

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Updated: 2026-08-28