DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

交代

Mandarin · pinyin jiāo dài

to transfer (duties to sb else)
to give instructions; to tell (sb to do sth)
to explain; to give an account; to brief
to confess; to account for oneself
(jocular) to come to a bad end

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

交: jiāo · mix; intersect; exchange, communicate; deliver
代: dài · replace, replacement (of person or generation); era, generation

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

1–4 · jiao1 dai4

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

2character links2same-tone records

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

交代 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 5 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

gaau1 doi6

Cantonese word readings for 交代. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

verb

to hand over
to explain; to brief; to make clear; to tell about
to ask (someone to do something); to order
to confess
to finish; to complete

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack