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祖传 (zǔ chuán) — to be handed down from one's ancestors; to be passed down through generations

Definition

祖传 (zǔ chuán) means handed down within one's own family line, used as an attribute before a noun (祖传手艺, 祖传秘方). Unlike 遗传 (biological traits) or 传承 (cultural heritage broadly), it emphasizes family ownership across generations.

verb
to be handed down from one's ancestorsto be passed down through generations

Examples

  • 祖传。
    Zhè mén zǔ chuán shǒu yì yǐ jīng zhuàn le wǔ dài le.
    This ancestral craft has been passed down for five generations.
  • 祖传。
    Wǒ men jiā zǔ chuán de mì fāng cóng bú wài chuán.
    Our family's secret recipe handed down from ancestors is never shared outside.
  • 祖传，。
    Zhè jiàn yù qì zǔ chuán le sān bǎi nián, fēi cháng zhēn guì.
    This jade artifact has been passed down for three hundred years and is very precious.

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.

祖zǔancestors
传chuánpass down

祖 refers to ancestors and 传 refers to passing down, giving the sense of handed down through generations.

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
示示shì
Sound part声符shēngfú
且
且qiě祖zǔ
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

祖 was made by adding 示 to 且, and 且 gives the sound.

Open 祖 →

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 7-9Family & Kinship

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