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流传 (liú chuán) — to spread, to circulate, to hand down (over time or among people)

Definition

流传 means a story, tradition, or rumor spreads widely over time among people. It is intransitive — use 传 when you need a transitive verb ('to pass something on'); 流通 is for air, money, or goods, not cultural content.

verb
to spreadto circulateto hand down (over time or among people)
Easily confused

Examples

  • 流传。
    Zhè ge xiāo xi liú chuán dé hěn kuài.
    This news spread quickly.
  • 流传。
    Zhè ge chuán tǒng yǐ jīng liú chuán le yì qiān duō nián.
    This tradition has been handed down for over a thousand years.
  • 流传。
    Wǎng shàng liú chuán zhe hěn duō yǒu qù de gù shi.
    Many interesting stories are circulating online.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

流liúspread
传chuántransmit

流 and 传 both describe movement from one place or person to another, so together they mean to spread or be handed down.

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
水水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
㐬
㐬㐬流liú
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

流 has 水, water, and 㐬, which gives the sound. The water part matches meanings such as flow.

Open 流 →

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 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 5HSK 2.0 Level 5

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