言传 (yán chuán) — to explain in words; to convey verbally

Definition

verb
to explain in wordsto convey verbally

Examples

  • 言传。
    Yǒu xiē shì qing hěn nán yòng yǔ yán yán chuán.
    Some things are hard to explain in words.
  • 言传。
    Tā tōng guò gù shi lái yán chuán dào lǐ.
    He uses stories to convey principles.
  • 言传，。
    Guāng kào yán chuán shì bú gòu de, hái xū yào shí jiàn.
    Just relying on verbal explanation is not enough; practice is also needed.

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.

言yánwords
传chuánconvey

‘言’ means words and ‘传’ means convey, together referring to explaining something verbally.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

The early form of 言 shows an opening and a mark indicating a location; the location is not described as the source of speech.

Open 言 →

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 →

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