主任

• 拼音: zhǔ rèn
• 汉字拆解: 主 = 丶(dot) + 王 (king); 任 = 亻(person) + 壬 (endure), meaning to appoint or bear responsibility

含义

Director; chief; head. A title for the person in charge of a department, office, or committee.

A common professional title in Chinese organisations, typically designating the head of a department or office. Used in government (办公室主任, office director), hospitals (科主任, department chief), schools (班主任, class teacher/homeroom teacher), and businesses. Lower in rank than 局长 (bureau chief) but higher than regular staff. 班主任 is a particularly common compound meaning 'homeroom teacher.'

例句

1. 王主任下午要开一个会。
2. 她是我们班的班主任。
3. 新来的主任对工作要求很高。

用法指南

语境: workplace, school, government

语气: respectful

正确说法

• 请问张主任在吗？(Excuse me, is Director Zhang here?)
• 我们的班主任对学生很关心。(Our homeroom teacher cares a lot about students.)

错误说法

• 我家的主任是我妈妈。(Don't use 主任 for family roles — it's an official title for organisations; use humorous terms only if clearly joking)

起源与历史

主 (main, master) + 任 (duty, appointment). Together they mean 'main appointment holder,' hence 'director' or 'chief.'

文化背景

世代: All ages

社会背景: Professional and institutional