误传 (wù chuán) — to misrepresent, to transmit (facts) incorrectly

Definition

误传 means information or facts were passed along incorrectly, often through a chain. Common in news and media contexts, paired with 事实/消息.

verb
to misrepresentto transmit (facts) incorrectly

Examples

  • 误传。
    Zhè ge xiāo xi bèi wù chuán le.
    This news was misreported.
  • 误传，。
    Jì zhě wù chuán le shì shí, dǎo zhì hěn duō rén wù jiě.
    The journalist misreported the facts, causing many people to misunderstand.
  • 误传。
    Qǐng bú yào wù chuán wǒ de huà.
    Please don't misrepresent my words.

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.

误wùwrongly
传chuánto transmit

The 'wrongly' sense of 误 applies to 传, giving 'to pass on something incorrectly'.

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 誤; 误 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánspeech
Sound part声符shēngfú
吳
吳wú誤wù
Same sound today

The traditional form 誤 uses 言 (speech) for meaning and 吳 for sound, giving the idea of speaking an error; the simplified 误 is a later shorthand.

Open 误 →

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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