传 (zhuàn) — biography; historical narrative
Definition
传 (zhuàn) on its own means 'biography' — usually as part of a book/series title (e.g. 《XX传》). The compound 传记 is the everyday word for a biography as a genre or object.
noun
biographyhistorical narrative
Measure word · 部
Examples
- 传。Zhè běn zhuàn xiě de shì míng cháo de yí wèi huáng dì.This biography is about an emperor of the Ming dynasty.
- 传，。Tā xiě le yí bù zhuàn, jì lù le zì jǐ de yì shēng.He wrote a biography that records his own life.
- 《》，传。Sī mǎ qiān de 《shǐ jì》 shì yí bù wěi dà de lì shǐ zhù zuò, qí zhōng bāo hán le xǔ duō zhuàn.Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian is a great historical work that contains many biographies.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost 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.
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.
Appears in
Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.