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传播 (chuán bō) — to spread, to disseminate, to propagate

Definition

传播 (chuánbō) is the neutral, written-style 'to spread / disseminate' for information, culture, or ideas. More purposeful and transitive than 流行 ('be popular/trendy'); more general than 宣传, which focuses on promoting a message.

verb
to spreadto disseminateto propagate
Easily confused

Examples

  • 传播。
    Hù lián wǎng ràng xìn xī chuán bō dé gèng kuài.
    The internet makes information spread faster.
  • 传播。
    Zhè zhǒng wén huà tōng guò shū jí chuán bō dào quán shì jiè.
    This culture spread to the whole world through books.
  • 传播。
    Wǒ men yīng gāi chuán bō zhèng néng liàng.
    We should spread positive energy.

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chuánpass on
播bōspread

传 = pass on, 播 = spread; together they mean disseminate or propagate.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
扌Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
番
番fān播bō
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

播 is built from 扌, a hand radical, plus 番 as a sound part. The hand part marks it as something done by hand.

Open 播 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 5HSK 2.0 Level 5Communication & Speech5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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