傳

简 传 · 繁 傳
Cantonese · source Jyutpingcyun4#

Meanings · cyun4

  1. to pass on
  2. to spread
  3. to transmit
  4. to infect
  5. to transfer
  6. to circulate
  7. to conduct (electricity)
  8. to convey
  9. to express
  10. to show
  11. to summon
Cantonese · source Jyutpingzyun3#

Meanings · zyun3

  1. to relay
Cantonese · source Jyutpingzyun6#

Meanings · zyun6

  1. biography
  2. commentaries on classics
About these definitions

Source definition segments, in their original order. Characters a definition cites are shown without their Mandarin pinyin; classifier lists that CC-Canto copied from CC-CEDICT are marked Mandarin. The community dictionary is not independently verified by zimai.

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Reading & tones

Schematic citation-tone diagrams from the source numbers. These are not recordings or predictions of connected speech.

Same syllable, six tones

Characters whose customary Unihan reading (kCantonese) is this syllable in each tone, chosen as in the tone atlas (2013 standard level, then the number of CC-CEDICT words they form), with CC-Canto 2017's meaning for that reading; a dash means no catalogue character has that reading. Checked syllables (-p, -t, -k) normally carry tones 1, 3 and 6. Character readings, not word readings; no frequency implied.

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Written characters

Both source spellings are represented. Written membership is not an etymological or semantic claim.

Cantonese characters and the Mandarin bridge ↗

Mandarin comparison · separate source entries

CC-CEDICT, the Mandarin–English dictionary, lists the same written form:

  • 傳 chuán CC-CEDICT · Mandarinto pass on; to spread; to transmit; to infect; to transfer; to circulate; to conduct (electricity)
  • 傳 zhuàn CC-CEDICT · Mandarinbiography; historical narrative; commentaries; relay station

A separate source entry, shown for comparison. The same characters can carry different senses in Mandarin and in Cantonese; zimai does not align these senses.

CC-Canto includes this pinyin reference: chuan2. It does not establish a Mandarin word with the same meaning.

Look up this spelling in the Mandarin dictionary ↗
Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 21 senses · 4 Cantonese readings

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

cyun4 · zyun2 · zyun3 · zyun6

Cantonese word readings for 傳. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

character · Etymology 1

  1. to transfer; to deliver; to transmit; to pass on
  2. to teach; to impart
  3. to pass down; to hand down
  4. to abdicate; to resign sovereign authority
  5. to express; to convey
  6. to summon; to call
  7. to spread; to circulate; to disseminate
  8. (physics) to conduct (electricity or heat)
  9. (Hokkien) to pass on to the next generation; to transmit to the offspring
  10. (Mainland China Hokkien) to give birth; to procreate; to have children
  11. (Quanzhou Hokkien) to give
  12. (Quanzhou Hokkien) to allow; to let; to permit
  13. (Quanzhou Hokkien) by

character · Etymology 2

  1. (historical, literature) a category of historical literary works — historical narrative; record; chronicle; historical documents
  2. (historical, literature) a category of historical literary works — commentary; annotation
  3. (historical, literature) a category of historical literary works — paracanonical work (any work that complements a canon or a canonical body of texts but not considered canonical by itself, often including the above)
  4. (literature) biography; life story
  5. (historical, literature) novel or story written in the historical style
  6. to write a biography

character · Etymology 3

  1. (historical) relay station for transmitting documents
  2. (historical) stagecoach; post-chaise

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

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

CC-Canto · Pleco Inc. · edition 2017-02-02
Source lines 25,853, 25,854, 25,855 · Original publisher · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Edition & transformations

Original source comment: adapted from cc-cedict

Original source comment: adapted from cc-cedict

Original source comment: adapted from cc-cedict

Mandarin comparison: CC-CEDICT 2026-10-13, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source reading differences and six-tone sets: computed by zimai from Unihan 17.0.0 (Unicode License V3).

Exact source records & identity傳 传 [chuan2] {cyun4} /to pass on/to spread/to transmit/to infect/to transfer/to circulate/to conduct (electricity)/to convey/to express/to show/to summon/ # adapted from cc-cedict

SHA-256: ce3676568d2d7dd9aa516666fb349d71c256a2bc762de13da042d85001f96126

傳 传 [chuan2] {zyun3} /to relay/ # adapted from cc-cedict

SHA-256: 116a0077505a91f36f3e9eed8124c7cb68136ea4e3837b098df48dbc50eb5ddc

傳 传 [chuan2] {zyun6} /biography/commentaries on classics/ # adapted from cc-cedict

SHA-256: 6a2d7eb82f9db028de05937dd1ec184daef96c410b544c06937b407c5f8e5a31