宣传部 (xuān chuán bù) — Propaganda Department (of the Chinese Communist Party or other party organizations)

Definition

The official 'Propaganda Department' within the CCP or other party/state organizations, handling messaging, media, and publishing. Note: 宣传 here is a neutral organizational term, not the negative sense of 'propaganda' in English politics.

noun
Propaganda Department (of the Chinese Communist Party or other party organizations)

Examples

  • 宣传部。
    xuān chuán bù Fù zé guǎn lǐ xīn wén hé chū bǎn gōng zuò.
    The Propaganda Department is responsible for managing news and publishing work.
  • 宣传部，。
    Tā zài xuān chuán bù gōng zuò le shí nián, jīng yàn fēi cháng fēng fù.
    He has worked in the Propaganda Department for ten years and has very rich experience.
  • 宣传部。
    xuān chuán bù Zuì jìn fā bù le yí fèn guān yú wén huà jiàn shè de wén jiàn.
    The Propaganda Department recently issued a document about cultural construction.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

宣传propagate
宣xuānproclaim传chuánspread
联合Side by side
部bùdepartment

宣 and 传 mean to proclaim and spread, and 部 means department, so it is a department for spreading ideas.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
宀宀miánroof
Sound part声符shēngfú
亘
亘gèn宣xuān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

宣 pairs the roof 宀, pointing to the emperor's main hall, with 亘 as the sound part. From that hall meaning, it came to mean clear or evident.

Open 宣 →

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
邑邑yì
Sound part声符shēngfú
咅
咅pǒu部bù
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

部 pairs 咅, which gives the sound, with 邑. It originally named a place in today's Gansu.

Open 部 →

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