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传唤 (chuán huàn) — to summon (to court); to subpoena

Definition

Legal/formal term meaning 'to summon (someone) to appear in court.' Distinct from colloquial 叫 (to call someone over) — 传唤 specifically requires attendance under legal authority.

verb
to summon (to court)to subpoena

Examples

  • 传唤。
    Fǎ yuàn chuán huàn tā dào tíng zuò zhèng.
    The court summoned him to testify.
  • 传唤。
    Lǜ shī shōu dào le chuán huàn tōng zhī.
    The lawyer received the subpoena notice.
  • 传唤，。
    Rú guǒ jù jué chuán huàn, kě néng huì bèi fá kuǎn.
    If you refuse the summons, you may be fined.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

传chuánsummon
唤huàncall

传 and 唤 both call someone, so the word means to summon.

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 喚; 唤 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
口口kǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
奐
奐huàn喚huàn
Same sound today

The traditional form 喚 pairs 口 (mouth) with 奐, which gives the pronunciation; the simplified 唤 is a later shorthand, and its right side is not the old sound part.

Open 唤 →
Appears in
Law & Justice

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