The kanji 担 primarily conveys the idea of "to bear," "to carry," or "to shoulder." It implies taking on a burden, responsibility, or supporting something. It can refer to physical carrying, such as carrying a load, or metaphorical carrying, such as shouldering a duty or responsibility.

・On-yomi (音読み): タン (tan) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): かつ（ぐ）(katsu(gu)), にな（う）(nina(u))

⚫︎ 責任を担う (sekinin o [担]u) Translation: To bear responsibility; to take on a responsibility. ⚫︎ 担当 (tantou) Translation: Being in charge of; person in charge; responsible (for something). ⚫︎ 肩に荷を担う (kata ni ni o [担]u) Translation: To carry a load on one's shoulders.

The kanji 担 is a 形声文字 (keisei moji), a phono-semantic compound. It's composed of two parts: ⚫︎ The phonetic component: 旦 (tan), which suggests the sound. ⚫︎ The semantic component: 手 (te, meaning "hand") or 扌 (the hand radical). The hand radical indicates the meaning of action and implies the physical act of "carrying" or "holding" something, while the phonetic component provides a clue to the pronunciation. The character developed to represent the act of carrying or bearing a load, both physically and metaphorically. The hand component points to the action of holding, and the 旦 component gives a hint of the sound.