單傳

简 单传 · 繁 單傳
Mandarin · pinyin dān chuán

Meanings

  1. to have only one heir in a generation (of a family, clan etc)
  2. to be learned from only one master (of a skill, art etc)
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Characters in this entry

單
Look up this written character
傳
chuán · summon; propagate, transmit
单
dān · single, individual, only; lone
传
chuán · summon; propagate, transmit
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

1–2 · dan1 chuan2

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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.

單傳 · find source passages ↗ · 单传 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

verb

  1. to have only one son to succeed a generation
  2. to be taught by only one master or school

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

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

單傳 · dan1 chuan2
CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG · edition 2026-10-13 · source line 22,788
Original dictionary · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source & transformation details
Exact source record單傳 单传 [dan1 chuan2] /to have only one heir in a generation (of a family, clan etc)/to be learned from only one master (of a skill, art etc)/