DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

任從

简任从 · 繁任從

Mandarin · pinyin rèn cóng

at one's discretion

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

任: rèn · trust to, rely on, appoint; to bear, duty, office; allow
從: cóng · from, by, since, whence, through
从: cóng · from, by, since, whence, through

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

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

4–2 · ren4 cong2

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

3character links

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.

任從 · find source passages ↗ · 任从 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 3 senses

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

verb

to allow; to let (somebody do as he pleases)

conj

no matter (how, what, etc.)
even if; even though

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

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