传 meaning in English

chuán

to pass on; to spread

HSK 3verbnounTraditional 傳6 strokes

Meaning of 传

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

chuán

to pass on
to spread
to transmit
to infect
to transfer
to circulate
to conduct (electricity)

zhuàn

biography
historical narrative
commentaries
relay station

How to use 传

As chuán it means to pass on, spread or transmit, and it appears in many common words like 传统 (chuántǒng, tradition) and 宣传 (xuānchuán, publicity). Example: 这个消息传得很快。(Zhège xiāoxi chuán de hěn kuài.) This news spread very quickly.

传 has the person radical 亻 on the left and 专 (zhuān) on the right. Picture a person 亻 handing something on to the next person, which is how news and traditions get passed on.

Common mistake: Learners often write the right side as 专 with an extra dot or confuse 传 with 转 (zhuǎn, to turn), which shares the same right part but has 车 on the left. Remember that 传 is about people passing things along, so it takes the person radical 亻.

传 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

他tā去qù世shì的de消xiāo息xī传chuán开kāi来lái了le。

The news of his death spread.

他tā们men传chuán统tǒng的de生shēng活huó方fāng式shì不bù再zài存cún在zài。

Their traditional life style no longer exists.

我wǒ不bù知zhī道dào如rú何hé传chuán真zhēn。

I don't know how to send a fax.

我wǒ们men的de结jié论lùn就jiù是shì，那nà个ge传chuán言yán是shì真zhēn的de。

We've come to the conclusion that this is a true story.

我wǒ们men应yīng当dāng把bǎ文wén化huà传chuán承chéng到dào下xià一yí代dài。

We should pass on our culture to the next generation.

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

传 chuán · to pass on · 6 strokes

Related words

Words that share a character with 传.

传说	chuánshuō	legend; folk tale; to repeat from mouth to mouth; they say that...
宣传	xuānchuán	to disseminate; to give publicity to
传播	chuánbō	to disseminate; to propagate; to spread
传来	chuánlái	(of a sound) to come through; to be heard
传统	chuántǒng	tradition; traditional
遗传	yíchuán	heredity; to inherit (a trait)
流传	liúchuán	to spread; to circulate; to hand down
传达	chuándá	to pass on; to convey
传递	chuándì	to transmit; to pass on to sb else; (math.) transitive
传真	chuánzhēn	to fax; a fax
传言	chuányán	rumor; hearsay
传输	chuánshū	to transmit; transmission

Questions about 传

What does 传 mean?

传 (chuán) means "to pass on; to spread" and is used as a verb and noun.

How do you write 传?

传 is made of 1 character: 传 (6 strokes). That is 6 strokes in total.

Is 传 an HSK word?

Yes. 传 is on the HSK 3 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

How is 传 written in traditional Chinese?

In traditional characters, 传 is written 傳.

When is 传 pronounced zhuàn instead of chuán?

It is read zhuàn when it means a biography or historical narrative, as in 自传 (zìzhuàn, autobiography) or 《水浒传》 (Shuǐhǔ Zhuàn, Water Margin). For all the verb meanings like spreading or passing, it is chuán.

Can 传 be used for diseases and electricity?

Yes. 传染 (chuánrǎn) means to infect or be contagious, for example 感冒会传染 (gǎnmào huì chuánrǎn, colds are contagious). It also means to conduct, as in 传电 (chuán diàn, to conduct electricity).