风传 (fēng chuán) — hearsay, rumor

Definition

风传 (fēngchuán) refers to rumors or hearsay that are widely circulating — a more literary, written-style noun than the everyday 谣言 or 传闻, often used in news or formal writing.

noun
hearsayrumor

Examples

  • 风传，。
    Zhè xiē fēng chuán bù kě xìn, wǒ men yào chá yí xià shì shí.
    These rumors are not credible; we need to check the facts.
  • 风传，。
    Guān yú gōng sī de fēng chuán yuè lái yuè duō, yuán gōng dōu hěn dān xīn.
    More and more rumors about the company are spreading; employees are very worried.
  • 风传，。
    Tā zǒng shì xiāng xìn bié rén de fēng chuán, cóng lái bú zì jǐ pàn duàn.
    He always believes rumors from others, never judging for himself.

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.

风fēngrumor
传chuánspread

The 风 points to rumor, while 传 points to spreading.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 风 →

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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