(chuán shuō) - legend, folk tale; it is said that in Mandarin
chuánshuōTraditional: 傳說
Translation
legend, folk tale; it is said that
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Word origin
A compound of 传 (chuán, to pass on or hand down) and 说 (shuō, to say), so literally what gets handed down by word of mouth.
- Origin
- compound
- Root
- 传 (chuán, to pass on) + 说 (shuō, to say)
Stroke order
传
说
Examples
。
This village has many ancient legends.
。
Legend has it that a god lives in this mountain.
，。
That is only a legend, not history.
。
He turned his family stories into a book.
。
The children like listening to these legends.
传说 (chuán shuō) is a legend: a story handed down orally, old enough that nobody can check it. Dragons, founding emperors, the spirit in the mountain, the woman who waited forty years at the gate. It is the word for folklore, not for fiction somebody sat down and wrote.
It doubles as a sentence opener meaning "it is said that". 传说这座山里住着神 needs no subject and no second verb of saying: the word itself does the reporting. This is the use you meet first, because tour guides and documentaries live on it.
The trap is reaching for 传说 to mean rumour. A legend is old and shared; gossip going round the office this week is 谣言 or 传闻. Call that a 传说 and you have promoted it to mythology.
Where this fits
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Mandarin · Free printables
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Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "传说" (legend, folk tale; it is said that): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
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Start your free week (no card)This word is taught in chapter 28, lesson 8: 传说 and 9 more words.