後任

• 読み: こうにん
• ローマ字: kounin
• 漢字の分解: 後 (kou) — after, later; 任 (nin) — duty, appointment, responsibility
• 発音: /ko.ɯ.ni.ɴ/

意味

Successor; replacement. A person who takes over a position or role from someone else.

A noun (also used as a no-adjective) referring to the person appointed to fill a role after the previous holder leaves. Common in business and organisational contexts. Collocations include 後任を探す (to look for a successor), 後任に選ばれる (to be chosen as successor), and 後任者 (successor — more formal). The opposite is 前任 (predecessor). Often appears in news about personnel changes and leadership transitions.

例文

1. 退職する部長の後任がまだ決まっていない。
2. 彼女が来月から課長の後任として着任する。
3. 後任に引き継ぎをしっかりしておく必要がある。

使い方ガイド

場面: business, politics, organisations, personnel

トーン: professional

起源と歴史

From Sino-Japanese 後 (kou, after/later) + 任 (nin, duty/appointment/responsibility). Literally 'the one appointed after,' clearly marking the temporal sequence of one person following another in a role.

文化的背景

時代: Classical

世代: Adults

社会的背景: Professional