授权

• Pinyin: shòu quán
• Hanzi breakdown: 授 = 手 + 受 (hand passing to receive — to confer); 权 = 木 + 隹 (wood + bird — steelyard; extended to power/authority)

Meaning

To authorise; to grant authority or permission; authorisation.

Used in legal, administrative, and technical contexts when a higher authority delegates power or permission to a lower entity or individual. Also used in digital/IT contexts for access permissions. Key collocations: 正式授权 (formal authorisation); 未经授权 (without authorisation); 授权委托书 (power of attorney).

Examples

1. 董事会正式授权首席执行官在不超过既定预算上限的前提下自主决策并签署所有战略合作协议。 The board formally authorized the CEO to make independent decisions and sign all strategic cooperation agreements, as long as the total stays within the approved budget cap.
2. 未经版权所有人明确授权，任何商业机构不得以任何形式复制、传播或改编该作品的全部或部分内容。 Without the copyright holder’s explicit authorization, no commercial entity may reproduce, distribute, or adapt all or part of the work in any form.
3. 这套企业数据管理系统采用分级授权机制，确保不同层级的员工只能访问与其职责范围相符的信息模块。 This enterprise data management system uses a tiered authorization mechanism to ensure employees at different levels can access only the information modules that match their job responsibilities.

Usage Guide

Context: law, business, technology, administration

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 在数字经济时代，平台应清晰告知数据用途，并允许用户随时撤销授权。(In the digital economy era, platforms should clearly explain data uses and let users withdraw authorisation at any time.)
• 跨国并购完成前，往往需获目标国反垄断机构授权，审查常持续数月。(Before a cross-border merger is completed, it often needs authorisation from the target country’s antitrust authority, and review can last for months.)

Don't Say

• 授权 for informal personal permission — use 允许 (to allow) or 批准 (to approve); 授权 implies a formal, often documented transfer of institutional authority, not a casual grant of permission between individuals

Origin & History

授 (to confer; to bestow — 手 hand + 受 to receive, depicting passing something from hand to hand) + 权 (authority; power — 木 wood + 隹 bird, originally a steelyard; extended to power/authority)

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal