传 (chuán) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

传

chuán[chuan2]Tone 2

to pass on, to transmit, to spread

HSK 3

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傳

Multiple Readings (多音字):

Guru Deep Dive

English · to pass on, to transmit, to spread

Cached lesson

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:6

Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (亻) should be narrower and slightly elevated, while the right component (专) is wider and bears the main visual weight.

Simplification Logic: The traditional form 傳 simplifies the right-side phonetic component 專 into 专, reducing complex strokes while preserving the phonetic root.

1. Meaning

to pass on, transmit, or spread from one person or place to another

to infect (with a disease)to transfer or circulate (information, traditions)to conduct electricity or heatto pass down through generations

VerbNeutral#communication#movement#education#science

Sample Usage

这封信传到了每个人手里。
Zhè fēng xìn chuán dào le měi gè rén shǒu lǐ.
This letter was passed into everyone's hands.
流感很容易传染。
Liúgǎn hěn róngyì chuánrǎn.
Influenza is very easy to transmit/infect.

2. Sound

/[t͡ʂʰu̯än³⁵]/Tone: 35

传

chuánchuan2

´(35)

=chuán

Initial Consonant

Type: Aspirated Retroflex

Sounds like: ch like in 'church' but with retroflex tongue posture

AspiratedRetroflex

Airflow Tactile Test: Both curled tongue AND explosive puff of air! Tissue MUST fly.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Tip of the tongue slightly curled back near the hard palate, releasing a sharp burst of air.

Final Rhyme

uan

Vowel Group: -a vowel group

Sounds like: uan rhymes with 'wan' in 'wander'

Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'wahn'.

Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.

Tone

T2 (35)

3 → 5 (35)

2nd Tone (Mid-Rising)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 2 rises from mid to high pitch, identical to the inflection used when asking 'Huh?' or 'What?' in English.

👂

Listening trap: Confusing the aspirated ch- initial with the unaspirated zh- or j- sounds.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: Move your hand upward diagonally from left to right, matching a rising question intonation in English.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 6 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (亻) should be narrower and slightly elevated, while the right component (专) is wider and bears the main visual weight.

Simplification Logic: The traditional form 傳 simplifies the right-side phonetic component 專 into 专, reducing complex strokes while preserving the phonetic root.

4. Components

Radical 亻 · person radical (human, person)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 亻 (indicates human action or relation)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 专 (original sound: zhuān / chuán)

A person (亻) hands off a specialized tool or message (专) to someone else, passing it on down the line.

亻 person
专 specialized / revolving spindle (phonetic & semantic hint)

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

5· Phonetic Root: 专 (zhuān)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally combined the 'person' radical (亻) indicating human agency with 專 (zhuān), which depicted a spindle used in spinning yarn, hinting at continuous thread-like transmission.

Semantic Evolution: From the physical act of handing something from person to person, it broadened to abstract transmission such as spreading news, passing down traditions, and conducting energy.

In ancient times, passing down historical texts and medical formulas orally or via brush was called chuán.
Imperial decrees passed down from emperors were known as chuánhì.

6. Sinosphere

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: デン (den), テン (ten) / Kun: つた.える (tsuta.eru), つた.わる (tsuta.waru)

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

전

Sound Shift Bridge: The historical root connects across East Asian literary vocabulary denoting transmission or biography (e.g., Japanese denki for biography).

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

A PERSON (亻) holds a spinning spindle SPECIALIZED (专) in making thread, continually PASSING ON (chuán) the family heritage from hand to hand.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

转

zhuǎnto turn, to shiftUses a vehicle/cart component (车) instead of a person, meaning to rotate or transfer physically.

专

zhuānspecialized, concentratedThe base phonetic component without the person radical, meaning specialized or expert.

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

转(zhuǎn)

转 has the car/vehicle radical (车), focusing on turning or pivoting, whereas 传 has the person radical (亻), focusing on passing things between people.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

老师把这个重要的消息___给每一个同学。

Clue: chuán

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing tone 2 (chuán, rising) with tone 4 (chuàn, falling) or confusing the character with 转 (zhuǎn).

Memory Prompts

Recognition: When you see 传, what English verbs come to mind regarding passing or transmitting?

Production: How do you write the character meaning 'to transmit or pass on' with a person radical on the left?

传chuánto pass on, to transmit, to spread

Speed:

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