责 zé — duty; responsibility; to reproach; to blame
保护环境是大家的责任。Bǎo hù huán jìng shì dà jiā de zé rèn.Protecting the environment is everyone responsibility.
Common words: 负责 (fù zé)、责任 (zé rèn)、负责人 (fù zé rén)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "to blame"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "to blame", including 责 (zé), 怪 (guài), 赖 (lài), 埋 (mái / mán). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "to blame" covers 4 different Chinese characters — 责 (zé), 怪 (guài), 赖 (lài), 埋 (mái / mán) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 4 characters do not share a sound — their readings span zé, guài, lài, mái, mán — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 责 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 责 zéduty; responsibility; to reproach; to blameUseful words: 负责, 责任
- 怪 guàiqueer; to blameUseful words: 奇怪, 难怪
- 赖 làidisclaim; rely; to blameUseful words: 依赖, 信赖
- 埋 mái / mánbury; to blameUseful words: 埋怨, 埋伏
Common words for these 4 "to blame" characters
Anchor each of these 4 characters in a word you can picture — start with 责 (zé) — so "to blame" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
负责fù zéto be responsible for; to be in charge of; to bear responsibility for; conscientious责任zé rènresponsibility; duty; liability负责人fù zé rénperson in charge奇怪qí guàistrange; odd; to marvel; to be baffled难怪nán guài(it's) no wonder (that...); (it's) not surprising (that)怪不得guài bu deno wonder!; so that's why!依赖yī làito depend on; to be dependent on信赖xìn làito trust; to have confidence in; to have faith in; to rely on无赖wú làihoodlum; rascal; rogue; rascally埋怨mán yuànto complain; to grumble (about); to reproach; to blame
See each character in a sentence
Each character below is shown in a short example sentence with pinyin and an English translation — the quickest way to feel the difference between the 4 ways to say "to blame".
怪 guài — queer; to blame
这件事真奇怪。Zhè jiàn shì zhēn qí guài.This matter is really strange.
Common words: 奇怪 (qí guài)、难怪 (nán guài)、怪不得 (guài bu de)
赖 lài — disclaim; rely; to blame
做错了事，不能赖别人。Zuò cuò le shì, bù néng lài bié ren.When you do something wrong, you cannot blame others.
Common words: 依赖 (yī lài)、信赖 (xìn lài)、无赖 (wú lài)
埋 mái / mán — bury; to blame
小狗把骨头埋在了院子里。Xiǎo gǒu bǎ gǔ tou mái zài le yuàn zi lǐ.The dog buried the bone in the yard.
Common words: 埋怨 (mán yuàn)、埋伏 (mái fú)、埋葬 (mái zàng)
All 4 characters
Open 责、怪、赖 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.