盛传 (shèng chuán) — to be widely rumored; to be the subject of widespread hearsay; it is widely said (that...)

Definition

盛传 means 'it is widely said/rumored (that...)' — an intransitive verb used for unverified information spreading widely. Pairs with a clause (盛传他要辞职), not a direct object.

verb
to be widely rumoredto be the subject of widespread hearsayit is widely said (that...)

Examples

  • 盛传。
    Zuì jìn shèng chuán tā yào cí zhí de xiāo xi.
    Recently there has been widespread rumor that he plans to resign.
  • 盛传。
    Wǎng shàng shèng chuán yì zhǒng xīn yào néng zhì zhè ge bìng.
    It is widely circulated online that a new drug can cure this disease.
  • 盛传。
    Zhè ge chuán shuō zài dāng dì shèng chuán le jǐ bǎi nián.
    This legend has been widely passed down in the local area for several hundred years.

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.

盛shèngabundant/widely
传chuánspread

盛 gives 'abundant/widely' and 传 gives 'spread', meaning widely rumored.

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
皿皿mǐn
Sound part声符shēngfú
成
成chéng盛shèng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

盛 combines 成 as a sound part with 皿 as a meaning part; the 皿 side points to a vessel, which fits meanings such as hold and fill.

Open 盛 →

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 →

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