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代代相传 (dài dài xiāng chuán) — to pass down from generation to generation; to be handed down through the ages

Definition

An idiom meaning 'passed down generation after generation,' used for traditions, crafts, or knowledge that continue across many generations — often in cultural or family contexts.

idiom
to pass down from generation to generationto be handed down through the ages

Examples

  • 代代相传。
    Zhè ge jiā zú de jì yì yǐ jīng dài dài xiāng chuán le shàng bǎi nián.
    This family's craft has been passed down for over a hundred years.
  • 代代相传。
    Xǔ duō mín jiān gù shi dōu shì tōng guò kǒu shù dài dài xiāng chuán xià lái de.
    Many folk tales have been handed down through oral tradition.
  • 代代相传，。
    Zhè zhǒng wén huà chuán tǒng zài wǒ men cūn lǐ dài dài xiāng chuán, cóng wèi zhōng duàn.
    This cultural tradition has been passed down in our village without interruption.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

代代generation after generation
代dàigeneration代dàigeneration
联合Coordinate
相传pass on to each other
相xiāngmutually传chuánpass on
偏正Modifier + head

代代 means generation after generation and 相传 means pass on to each other, so it is handed down through ages.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
亻Written in full as人rénperson
Sound part声符shēngfú
弋
弋yì代dài
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 代, 亻 shows a person, and 弋 gives the sound.

Open 代 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
亻Written in full as人rénperson
Sound part声符shēngfú
弋
弋yì代dài
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 代, 亻 shows a person, and 弋 gives the sound.

Open 代 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

In 相, 目 is an eye and 木 is a tree, showing an eye looking at a tree; this originally meant “to observe.”

Open 相 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 傳; 传 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
人人rénman
Sound part声符shēngfú
專
專zhuān傳chuán
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 傳 puts 人 (man) beside 專, which gives the sound; the simplified 传 is a later shorthand, and its parts are not the historical ones.

Open 传 →
Appears in
HistoryIdioms & Set Phrases

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