Dictionary › 交代

交代

jiāo dài

HSK 6 2-character word

What 交代 means

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

The characters in 交代

• 交jiāoto hand over; to deliver; to pay (money); to turn over; to make friends…
• 代dàito be a substitute for; to act on behalf of; to replace; to substitute; generation…

Example sentences

• 把玛丽交代你去做的事告诉汤姆。
  Bǎ Mǎlì jiāodài nǐ qù zuò de shì gàosu Tāngmǔ.
  Tell Tom what Mary asked you to do.

Sounds the same

Read jiāo dài, tone for tone, but written differently.

• 胶带adhesive tape; magnetic tape
• 交待variant of 交代