What is the difference between “task” and “assignment”? [duplicate]

Question

Possible Duplicate:
Task, project, assignment, job. Which one is correct in my case?

These words don't have exact matches in Portuguese, so sometimes I get confused about their usage. When is it more suitable to use task rather than assigment and vice versa?

Answer 1

Task is a piece of work to be done or undertaken.

Assignment is a task assigned as part of a job or course of study.

In short, assignment = task given to you.