(zhuàn) — biography; historical narrative

Definition

传 (zhuàn) on its own means 'biography' — usually as part of a book/series title (e.g. 《XX传》). The compound 传记 is the everyday word for a biography as a genre or object.

noun
biographyhistorical narrative
Measure word ·

Examples

  • Zhè běn zhuàn xiě de shì míng cháo de yí wèi huáng dì.
    This biography is about an emperor of the Ming dynasty.
  • Tā xiě le yí bù zhuàn, jì lù le zì jǐ de yì shēng.
    He wrote a biography that records his own life.
  • Sī mǎ qiān de 《shǐ jì》 shì yí bù wěi dà de lì shǐ zhù zuò, qí zhōng bāo hán le xǔ duō zhuàn.
    Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian is a great historical work that contains many biographies.

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.