传销 (chuán xiāo) — pyramid scheme; illegal multi-level marketing

Definition

传销 (chuánxiāo) refers to pyramid schemes — illegal multi-level marketing that scams participants through recruitment chains. It is a crime in China, distinct from legal direct selling (直销).

verb

pyramid schemeillegal multi-level marketing

Examples

传销，。
Tā cān jiā le yí gè chuán xiāo zǔ zhī, hòu lái bèi jǐng fāng chá chǔ le.
He joined a pyramid scheme organization and was later investigated by the police.
传销。
Hěn duō rén yīn wèi xiàn rù chuán xiāo ér sǔn shī le dà liàng qián cái.
Many people lost a lot of money because they fell into pyramid schemes.
传销，。
Zhèng fǔ yán lì dǎ jī chuán xiāo huó dòng, bǎo hù qún zhòng lì yì.
The government cracks down heavily on pyramid scheme activities to protect the people's interests.

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.

传chuánpass along

销xiāosell

“传” means to pass along, and “销” means selling, so the whole names selling by passing goods or contacts along.

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 銷; 销 is its simplified writing.

金肖銷

Meaning part形符xíngfú

金金jīn

Sound part声符shēngfú

肖

肖xiào銷xiāo

Same sound today

The traditional form 銷 pairs 金 (metal) with 肖 as a sound part; simplified 销 is a later shorthand, and its parts are not historical components.

Open 销 →