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传真 (chuán zhēn) — fax; facsimile

Definition

noun
faxfacsimile
Measure word · 份

Examples

  • 传真。
    Qǐng bǎ zhè fèn wén jiàn yòng chuán zhēn fā guò qù.
    Please send this document by fax.
  • 传真？
    Nǐ shōu dào wǒ de chuán zhēn le ma?
    Did you receive my fax?
  • 。
    Gōng sī xīn mǎi le yì tái chuán zhēn jī.
    The company bought a new fax machine.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

传chuántransmit
真zhēntrue copy

The first part means transmit, and the second stands for a true copy, so the whole names a service that sends a copy of a document.

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.

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 →

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
貝貝bèicowrie; shell
Sound part声符shēngfú
𠂈
𠂈𠂈真zhēn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

真 pairs 貝 (cowrie shell, used for the meaning) with 𠂈, which gave the sound and originally drew a headlong fall.

Open 真 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6HSK 2.0 Level 4Phones & Telecom

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