分担

• Pinyin: fēn dān
• Hanzi breakdown: 分 = 八 + 刀 (divide); 担 = 扌+ 旦 (hand radical + dawn — to carry a shoulder pole; to bear)

Meaning

To share; to divide and bear together. To take on part of a burden, responsibility, cost, or hardship that would otherwise fall on one person alone.

Emphasises the cooperative and equitable sharing of burdens. Commonly used with 责任 (responsibility), 压力 (pressure), 费用 (costs), 风险 (risks), 痛苦 (pain). Carries a positive connotation of solidarity and mutual support. Different from 承担 (to bear entirely oneself) or 转嫁 (to transfer a burden to someone else).

Examples

1. 夫妻约定平等分担家务和子女教育责任，不按性别分工。 The couple agreed to share housework and child-education duties equally, without gendered division.
2. 项目延期后，团队决定共同分担剩余工作量。 After the project was delayed, the team decided to share the remaining workload.
3. 保险通过群体分担个体风险，降低个人遭遇不幸时的脆弱性。 Insurance lets the group share individual risks, reducing personal vulnerability after misfortune.

Usage Guide

Context: family, work, social, finance

Tone: cooperative

Do Say

• 各参与方通过合同安排，合理分担项目商业与技术风险。(Each participant uses contractual arrangements to reasonably share commercial and technical project risks.)
• 心理咨询让来访者感到有人愿意分担其孤独与痛苦。(Counseling helps visitors feel that someone is willing to share their loneliness and pain.)

Don't Say

• 分担 when the burden is being entirely transferred rather than shared — for that, use 转嫁 or 推卸; 分担 specifically implies cooperative sharing, not delegation or offloading

Origin & History

分 (to divide, to share) + 担 (to carry, to bear; a carrying pole) — to divide a carried load; to share what one bears

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal