How to Say “Who is in charge?” in Chinese
Work and study · HSK 3
"Who is in charge?" in Chinese is 谁负责？ (Shéi fùzé?). 负责 (fùzé) means 'to be responsible for' and is the standard office word; 谁负责? is the everyday way to ask who owns something. Watch the tone: a blunt 谁负责? can sound accusatory, like 'whose fault is this?'; so when you genuinely need to find the right person, soften it with 请问.
Primary translation
谁负责？
Shéi fùzé?
Traditional: 誰負責？
Variants by register
Formal
请问这件事是由谁负责的？
Qǐngwèn zhè jiàn shì shì yóu shéi fùzé de?
Casual
这谁管啊？
Zhè shéi guǎn a?
When to use it
负责 (fùzé) means 'to be responsible for' and is the standard office word; 谁负责? is the everyday way to ask who owns something. Watch the tone: a blunt 谁负责? can sound accusatory, like 'whose fault is this?'; so when you genuinely need to find the right person, soften it with 请问...是由谁负责的 or add 这块 (this area). Fun pronunciation note: 谁 is officially shéi but most Mainlanders actually say shuí in formal speech; both are correct. In Taiwan, shéi dominates.
Example sentences
请问这个项目是由谁负责的？
Qǐngwèn zhège xiàngmù shì yóu shéi fùzé de?
May I ask who is in charge of this project?
市场部这块谁负责？我想请教一下。
Shìchǎng bù zhè kuài shéi fùzé? Wǒ xiǎng qǐngjiào yíxià.
Who is in charge of the marketing side? I'd like to ask them something.
出了问题先别吵，先搞清楚谁负责。
Chū le wèntí xiān bié chǎo, xiān gǎo qīngchu shéi fùzé.
If there's a problem, don't argue; first figure out who is in charge.