Responsable vs. encargado
Both responsable and encargado relate to having a duty or obligation, but they are used in different contexts. The word responsable implies a broader sense of accountability, being the cause of an event, or having a reliable personality trait. On the other hand, the word encargado is used when someone has been specifically assigned, delegated, or hired to oversee a particular task, physical area, or role, often translating closer to being in charge or a manager.
Responsable
The word responsable indicates general moral or legal accountability, being the root cause of a specific outcome, or possessing the personality trait of being dependable and taking one's duties seriously.
El director es responsable del éxito financiero de la empresa.
(The director is responsible for the financial success of the company.)
La policía busca al responsable del robo en el museo.
(The police are looking for the person responsible for the robbery at the museum.)
Mi hermana mayor es muy responsable y siempre paga sus cuentas a tiempo.
(My older sister is very responsible and always pays her bills on time.)
Los padres son responsables del bienestar y la salud de sus hijos pequeños.
(Parents are responsible for the well-being and health of their young children.)
Un error en el sistema informático fue responsable de la pérdida de los archivos.
(A bug in the computer system was responsible for the loss of the files.)
Como ciudadano, me siento responsable de mantener limpia mi comunidad.
(As a citizen, I feel responsible for keeping my community clean.)
Encargado
The word encargado refers to a person who has been delegated a specific task, appointed to manage an area, or given a temporary or permanent role to oversee something, functioning much like an overseer, supervisor, or manager.
Pedro es el encargado de abrir y cerrar la cafetería todos los días.
(Pedro is the person in charge of opening and closing the coffee shop every day.)
Si tienes problemas con tu habitación, debes hablar con el encargado del hotel.
(If you have problems with your room, you should speak with the hotel manager.)
Mis vecinos me dejaron encargado de regar sus plantas durante sus vacaciones.
(My neighbors left me in charge of watering their plants during their vacation.)
La empresa contrató a un nuevo encargado para el departamento de ventas.
(The company hired a new manager for the sales department.)
Ella es la encargada de organizar la fiesta de fin de año de la oficina.
(She is the one in charge of organizing the office New Year's Eve party.)
El encargado del edificio está reparando el ascensor en este momento.
(The building supervisor is repairing the elevator right now.)
Summary
In short, use responsable when you want to express who holds the ultimate accountability, who is to blame, or to describe a dependable personality. Use encargado when you are talking about someone who was assigned a specific duty, task, or managerial role by someone else.