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传染 (chuán rǎn) — to infect (someone with a disease); to be contagious

Definition

传染 (chuánrǎn) is the everyday verb for disease spreading between people — more specific than 传, focused on contagion. 感染 also means 'to infect' but emphasizes the pathogen or the act of catching it, while 传染 highlights the transmission itself.

verb
to infect (someone with a disease)to be contagious

Examples

  • 传染。
    Zhè zhǒng bìng hěn róng yì gěi rén chuán rǎn.
    This disease is easily transmitted to others.
  • 传染。
    Xiǎo xīn bú yào bèi bìng rén chuán rǎn.
    Be careful not to be infected by the patient.
  • 传染。
    Tā chuán rǎn le quán jiā rén.
    He infected the whole family.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

传chuánpass on
染rǎnbecome infected

传 = pass on, 染 = become infected; together they mean infect.

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 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

染 combines 氵 (water), 九 (hook), and 木 (tree): something hung on a hook from a tree into water to dye it.

Open 染 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6HSK 2.0 Level 5Illness & Symptoms

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