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传话 (chuán huà) — to pass on a message, to relay a message

Definition

传话 (chuán huà) means to relay a spoken message from one person to another — a separable verb where 话 can move (帮我传个话 / 帮我传话给他).

verb
to pass on a messageto relay a message

Examples

  • 传话。
    Nǐ bāng wǒ chuán huà gěi tā ba.
    Please pass a message to him for me.
  • 传话。
    Tā ràng wǒ chuán huà shuō nǐ míng tiān bú yòng lái le.
    She asked me to tell you that you don't need to come tomorrow.
  • ，传话。
    Zhè jiàn shì hěn zhòng yào, nǐ yí dìng yào bāng wǒ chuán huà.
    This matter is very important; you must help me pass on the message.

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
话huàwords

The 传 'transmit' and 话 'words' combine to mean passing on a message.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 話; 话 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánword
Sound part声符shēngfú
𠯑
𠯑𠯑話huà
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In the traditional form 話, 言 relates to words and 𠯑 gives the sound; the simplified 话 is a shorthand, so its right side is not that sound part.

Open 话 →
Appears in
Communication & Speech

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