Chinese word

传言

Pronunciation

Pinyinchuán yán

Meaning

  • nounrumor

Example

最近有很多传言说公司要裁员。zuì jìn yǒu hěn duō chuán yán shuō gōng sī yào cái yuán

There have been many rumors recently that the company will lay off employees.

Illustration for 传言 (rumor)

More examples

媒体很快辟谣，证明那些传言不实。méi tǐ hěn kuài pì yáo zhèng míng nà xiē chuán yán bù shí

The media quickly refuted the rumors, proving that they were false.

Core concept

A message passed from person to person while its truth remains unconfirmed.

Common phrases

  • 辟谣传言pì yáo chuán yán

    refute rumors

  • 传言不实chuán yán bù shí

    rumors are false

Similar words

传闻chuán wén: Unverified information reported as something heard from another person.
流言liú yán: A baseless rumor that has spread widely among people.
谣言yáo yán: False or mistaken information that has spread as a rumor.
风闻fēng wén: Hearsay passed from person to person before the facts are clear.

Definition in Chinese

未经证实从别人处传来的话或说法，常指流言或谣言。wèi jīng zhèng shí cóng bié rén chù chuán lái de huà huò shuō fǎ cháng zhǐ liú yán huò yáo yán

Word origin

传 (chuán, "pass on") + 言 (yán, "words") describes speech that travels from one person to another, which develops into the meaning of an unverified rumor.

Usage tips

  • In conversation, 有传言说 (yǒu chuányán shuō, "there is a rumor that") introduces a claim as unconfirmed, so it does not present the claim as established fact.

Opposites

Word lists with this word