担当（たんとう、tantou）
- to be in charge

The Japanese word 担当 (たんとう, tantou) generally translates to "person in charge," "responsible for," "in charge of," or "to be in charge of." It refers to someone's role, assignment, or area of responsibility for a specific task, project, or department. It can describe both a person's role (the person) and the action of taking on that role (the responsibility). The core idea is that someone has been assigned a duty or given responsibility for something.

⚫︎私はこのプロジェクトの担当です。 Translation: I am in charge of this project. ⚫︎営業部の担当者に電話してください。 Translation: Please call the person in charge of the sales department. ⚫︎彼はイベントの企画を担当しています。 Translation: He is in charge of planning the event.

⚫︎You'll often encounter 担当 in professional settings (work, school) to designate who is responsible for a task. ⚫︎It's used to identify the person or department responsible for specific items, such as customer service お客様担当 (customer service department). ⚫︎You can use it to ask who is responsible, as in 担当は誰ですか？ (Who is in charge?). ⚫︎You can also use the verb form 担当する (tantou suru), meaning "to be in charge of" or "to handle."

⚫︎The standard way to write 担当 is in kanji and hiragana: 担当. ⚫︎The kanji 担 means "to carry" or "to bear," and the kanji 当 means "to hit," "to be appropriate," or "to be in charge." Together, they form the concept of carrying or being responsible for something. ⚫︎The verb form is 担当する (tantou suru). The okurigana (hiragana attached to kanji to indicate the word's pronunciation) is important here, showing the verb ending.

⚫︎責任者 (せきにんしゃ, sekininsha): person in charge, responsible person. This emphasizes the responsibility aspect more strongly. ⚫︎係 (かかり, kakari): person in charge, a person responsible for (usually a simpler or shorter-term task). ⚫︎主任 (しゅにん, shunin): head, chief (of a section or department). ⚫︎マネージャー (manejā): manager

There aren't direct antonyms as such, but words that imply a lack of responsibility or involvement could include: ⚫︎無関係 (むかんけい, mukankei): unrelated, having nothing to do with. ⚫︎非担当 (hi-tantou): not in charge (used as a prefix). This is less common.

田中さんは、この案件の担当者です。 ・Translation: Mr. Tanaka is the person in charge of this project. ・Explanation: This sentence clearly identifies Mr. Tanaka as the person with responsibility for the specific project.

私は広報を担当しています。 ・Translation: I am in charge of public relations. ・Explanation: This sentence describes the speaker's role or area of responsibility within a company or organization.

The word 担当 is a compound word. The kanji 担 (tan) means "to bear" or "to carry," and the kanji 当 (tou) means "to hit," "to be appropriate," or "to be in charge." The combination of these two characters suggests the idea of carrying a responsibility and being assigned to a particular role. The origin is based on Chinese characters.