📖 Meaning
Unable to bear the responsibility or be up to the task. It describes a person who lacks the ability or competence to handle an important duty or position assigned to them.
📜 Origin Story
This phrase originates from the 'Xi Ci Xia' (Appended Remarks, Part II) chapter of the 'Zhou Yi' (Book of Changes), a foundational divination and philosophical text from the Zhou Dynasty. The text quotes the hexagram Ding (Cauldron): 'The cauldron's legs break, the prince's meal is spilled, his person is disgraced—misfortune.' The commentary explains this image describes someone who is not up to the responsibility they bear, likening an incompetent person holding high office to a broken cauldron that cannot hold its contents.
💡 Example Usage
他刚入职就负责这么大的项目，恐怕不胜其任。
He was assigned to manage such a large project right after joining the company; I'm afraid he is not up to the task.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 不胜其任
- Pinyin: bù shèng qí rèn
- Literal Translation: not, able to bear, that, responsibility
- Category: Skill
- Characters: 4