assign

Compared meaning: to give someone a task (verb).

比较义项：把任务交给某人去做（动词）。

• assign 本词

  A general, neutral word for giving someone a task, duty or role; does not imply the task was previously the speaker's own responsibility. Common with homework, jobs, seats, duties.

  泛指把任务、职责或角色交给某人，不含该任务原本属于说话者自己的意思，常与作业、工作、座位、职责搭配。

  The teacher will assign homework at the end of class.

  老师会在下课时布置家庭作业。

• delegate

  Means handing off part of one's own authority or workload to someone else, usually a subordinate; implies trust and formal, workplace-style empowerment, not just task-giving.

  指把自己原本拥有的职权或工作交给他人（通常是下属）去做，含有信任和正式授权的意味，而不只是单纯分配任务。

  The manager will delegate some tasks to her new assistant.

  经理会把一些工作委派给她的新助理。

Assign and delegate both mean to give someone a task, but delegate implies handing off your own authority, usually to a subordinate. Assign is neutral and general. This does not compare assign meaning 'to give a value', or delegate as a noun meaning 'a representative'.

这两个词都表示把工作交给别人去做，但 delegate 强调把原本属于自己的职权或任务下放给他人代为处理，语气更正式，常用于上级对下级；assign 只是泛指分配、指派任务，不涉及职权转移。这里不比较 assign 的“赋值”义（如给变量赋值），也不比较 delegate 的名词义（“代表”）。