DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

以訛傳訛

简以讹传讹 · 繁以訛傳訛

Mandarin · pinyin yǐ é chuán é

to spread falsehoods
to increasingly distort the truth
to pile errors on top of errors (idiom)

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Characters in this entry

以: yǐ · by means of; thereby, therefore; consider as; in order to
訛: Look up this written character
傳: chuán · summon; propagate, transmit
讹: é · swindle, cheat; erroneous, wrong
传: chuán · summon; propagate, transmit

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

3–2–2–2 · yi3 e2 chuan2 e2

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

以訛傳訛 · find source passages ↗ · 以讹传讹 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

ji5 ngo4 cyun4 ngo4

Cantonese word readings for 以訛傳訛. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(idiomatic) to incorrectly relay an erroneous message (so that it becomes increasingly distorted)
(games) telephone; Chinese whispers

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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