play a part in

play a part in something

and play a role in something

1. to participate in something in a specific way. I hope to play a part in the development of the new product. I want to play a role in this procedure.

2. to portray a character in a performance. He played a part in The Mikado, but it was not a major role. Larry wanted to play a role in the next play.

Common Names:

Name	Pronounced	Usage
Biljana	-	Serbian, Macedonian, Croatian
Pilirani	pil-ee-RAH-nee	Southern African, Chewa
Takumi	tah-koo-mee	Japanese
Heinrike	hien-REE-kə	German
Szymon	SHI-mawn	Polish
Sara	SAH-rah (Spanish, Finnish, Dutch, Polish), ZAH-rah (German), SER-ə (English), SAR-ə (English), SAH:-rah (Arabic)	Greek, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Catalan, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Finnish, German