Definition
传 (zhuàn) is a concise noun meaning 'biography' or 'historical narrative', often used in titles or as a suffix (e.g., 自传 'autobiography'). It is slightly more literary and classical than 传记 (zhuàn jì), which is the everyday, neutral term for a biography. In modern usage, 传 appears in set phrases and formal writing, while 传记 is the standard word for a biographical book.
noun
biographyhistorical narrative
Easily confused
- 传chuánlook-aliketo pass on; to transmit; to transfer
- 转zhuànsound-aliketo rotate, to spin, to turn (around an axis)
- 转zhuànlook-aliketo turn, to rotate, to revolve
- 赚zhuànsound-aliketo earn (a profit), to make money
- 砖zhuānsound-alikebrick
Examples
- 传。Zhè běn zhuàn xiě de shì Míngcháo de yí wèi huángdì.This biography is about an emperor of the Ming dynasty.
- 传，。Tā xiě le yí bù zhuàn, jìlù le zìjǐ de yìshēng.He wrote a biography that records his own life.
- 《》，传。Sīmǎ Qiān de Shǐjì shì yí bù wěidà de lìshǐ zhùzuò, qízhōng bāohán le xǔduō zhuàn.Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian is a great historical work that contains many biographies.
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