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传道 (chuán dào) — to propagate the doctrines of ancient sages (Confucian); to preach; to deliver a sermon (religious)

Definition

Literary/classical verb meaning 'to preach or propagate a doctrine.' Confucian sense = spreading sages' teachings; religious sense = delivering a sermon. Rare in everyday speech.

verb
to propagate the doctrines of ancient sages (Confucian)to preachto deliver a sermon (religious)

Examples

  • 传道，。
    Kǒng zǐ yì shēng zhì lì yú chuán dào, jiào dǎo dì zǐ rén yì zhī dào.
    Confucius devoted his life to propagating the Way, teaching his disciples the path of benevolence and righteousness.
  • 传道，。
    Tā měi gè zhōu rì dōu qù jiào táng chuán dào, xiàng xìn tú jiǎng jiě shèng jīng.
    He goes to the church every Sunday to preach, explaining the Bible to believers.
  • 。
    Zhè wèi mù shī yǐ jīng zhuàn le èr shí nián de dào.
    This pastor has already been preaching for twenty years.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

传chuánpropagate
道dàothe Way

传 (propagate) plus 道 (the Way) gives preaching.

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
行行xíngstreet
止止zhǐfoot
Sound part声符shēngfú
𩠐
首shǒu道dào
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

Early 道 showed a street 行, a foot 止, and a part written 首 or 𩠐; the right part of 行 later disappeared.

Open 道 →
Appears in
Religion & Belief

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