传 (chuán): to pass on, to spread, to transmit
传 (chuán) is a Chinese character meaning “to pass on.” Classified as HSK Level 5 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 亻 (semantic) and 专 (phonetic). It ranks #332 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 传 people. Its radical form 亻 (person) appears in many related characters such as 人 (rén, person), 什 (shén, what), 今 (jīn, now).
Definitions
- to pass on
- to spread
- to transmit
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 传 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 传
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 传统noun/adjective | chuán tǒng | tradition | 5 |
| 传说verb/noun | chuán shuō | legend | 5 |
| 宣传verb | xuān chuán | to disseminate | 5 |
| 传播verb | chuán bō | to disseminate | 5 |
| 遗传verb | yí chuán | heredity | 6 |
| 传染verb | chuán rǎn | to infect | 6 |
| 传达verb | chuán dá | to pass on | 6 |
| 传递verb | chuán dì | to transmit | 5 |
| 传真noun | chuán zhēn | to fax | 6 |
| 传输verb | chuán shū | to transmit | 6 |
| 流传verb | liú chuán | to spread | 5 |
| 传染病noun | chuán rǎn bìng | infectious disease | 6 |
| 传授verb | chuán shòu | to impart | 6 |
| 传承verb | chuán chéng | to pass on (to future generations) | 6 |
| 上传verb | shàng chuán | to upload | 5 |
| 相传verb | xiāng chuán | to pass on | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 传奇noun | chuán qí | legendary |
| 传送verb | chuán sòng | to convey |
| 传言noun | chuán yán | rumor |
| 传球verb | chuán qiú | (sports) to pass the ball |
| 传来verb | chuán lái | (of a sound) to come through |
| 传单noun | chuán dān | leaflet |
| 传闻noun | chuán wén | rumor |
| 传票noun | chuán piào | summons |
| 传出verb | chuán chū | to transmit outwards |
| 传唤verb | chuán huàn | a summons (to the police) |
| 传讯verb | chuán xùn | (law) to summon (a witness) |
| 传感器noun | chuán gǎn qì | sensor |
| 自传noun | zì zhuàn | autobiography |
| 传教士noun | chuán jiào shì | missionary |
| 谣传noun | yáo chuán | rumor |
传 appears in 108 compound words: 73 as the first character, 25 as the last, and 2 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 传 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (18)
to carry on one's ancestral line; to go on from generation to generation
droplet infection (disease transmission from sneezing, coughing etc)
to pass on errors or lies (idiom); the propagation of misconceptions
lit. to erect a stele and write a biography (idiom); to monumentalize; to glorify
to carry on one's ancestral line; to go on from generation to generation
droplet infection (disease transmission from sneezing, coughing etc)
to pass on errors or lies (idiom); the propagation of misconceptions
lit. to erect a stele and write a biography (idiom); to monumentalize; to glorify
Showing 12 of 18 idioms containing 传.
Example Sentences
这个传统已经流传了几百年，至今仍然被人们珍视。
Zhè gè chuántǒng yǐjīng liúchuán le jǐ bǎi nián, zhìjīn réngrán bèi rénmen zhēnshì.
This tradition has been passed down for hundreds of years and is still cherished by people today.
阿曼证实美伊2/26日内瓦再谈 传德黑兰愿就核计画让步
ā 曼 zhèng shí měi yī 2 2 6 rì nèi wǎ zài tán chuán dé hēi lán yuàn jiù hé jì huà ràng bù
Oman confirmed that the United States and Iran will talk again in Geneva on 2/26 and it is rumored that Tehran is willing to make concessions on the nuclear program
京都浴屏设计独特 告别传统浴帘缺点
jīng dōu yù bǐng shè jì dú tè gào bié chuán tǒng yù lián quē diǎn
Kyoto's bath screen design is unique, say goodbye to the shortcomings of traditional shower curtains
新春走基层|网球传奇齐聚上海,精彩球技点燃新春佳节
xīn chūn zǒu jī céng wǎng qiú chuán qí qí jù shàng hǎi , jīng cǎi qiú jì diǎn rán xīn chūn jiā jié
Tennis legends gathered in Shanghai, and their wonderful skills ignited the Spring Festival
南京江宁春节再传佳讯!全球首款轻量化肝脏脂肪定量检..
nán jīng jiāng nìng chūn jié zài chuán jiā xùn ! quán qiú shǒu kuǎn qīng liáng huā gān zāng zhī fáng dìng liáng jiǎn . .
Nanjing Jiangning Chinese New Year is another good news! The world's first lightweight liver fat quantitative...
2026年世界知识产权报告:创新传播速度达历史新高
nián shì jiè zhī shí chǎn quán bào gào chuàng xīn chuán bō sù dù dá lì shǐ xīn gāo
World Intellectual Property Report 2026: Diffusion of innovations reaches record pace
你能寄宣传册给我吗？
Nǐ néng jì xuānchuáncè gěi wǒ ma?
Could you send me a brochure?
我们的遗传基因真的和黑猩猩几乎一样吗？
Wǒmen de yíchuán jīyīn zhēnde hé hēixīngxīng jīhū yīyàng ma?
Is it true that our genetic heritage is almost the same as that of chimpanzees?
慧如那个简报档还没传喔？客户在催。
Huì rú nàge jiǎnbào dǎng hái méi chuán ō? kèhù zài cuī.
Hasn't Huiru sent the slides yet? The client's pushing.
我们必须保持家庭传统。
Wǒmen bìxū bǎochí jiātíng chuántǒng.
We must keep up the family traditions.
Character Family
Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 亻 (people) component
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 传 (chuán) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 传 and 转?
How many strokes does 传 have?
What is the radical of 传?
What are the components of 传?
What are common words containing 传?
What characters sound the same as 传 (chuán)?
Is 传 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 传 with real-time feedback
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