Chinese word

祖传

Pronunciation

Pinyinzǔ chuán

Meaning

  • adjectivehanded down in the family

Example

他学的是祖传手艺。tā xué de shì zǔ chuán shǒu yì

He is learning a family craft handed down through generations.

Illustration for 祖传 (handed down in the family)

More examples

奶奶留下了祖传的秘方，我们一直在用。nái nǎi liú xià le zǔ chuán de mì fāng wǒ men yì zhí zài yòng

Grandma left us a family secret recipe, and we have been using it ever since.

Core concept

Something kept alive inside a family as each generation teaches it to the next.

Common phrases

  • 祖传手艺zǔ chuán shǒu yì

    family craft passed down through generations

  • 祖传秘方zǔ chuán mì fāng

    family secret recipe

  • 祖传家业zǔ chuán jiā yè

    family business passed down through generations

Similar words

家传jiā chuán: Passed down within a family through generations, often describing a skill, recipe, or family secret.

Definition in Chinese

由祖先一代代传下来的东西或技艺，通常指家族内部世代相传的手艺、秘方或习惯。yóu zǔ xiān yí dài dài chuán xià lái de dōng xī huò jì yì tōng cháng zhǐ jiā zú nèi bù shì dài xiāng chuán de shǒu yì mì fāng huò xí guàn

Word origin

祖传 (zǔchuán, "handed down by ancestors") joins 祖 (zǔ, "ancestor") with 传 (chuán, "to pass on"), giving the compound its focus on transmission within a family.

Usage tips

  • The word can describe a skill, a recipe, or a custom, not only a physical object, so it covers family knowledge as well as family things.

Other meanings

  • family traditionnoun
  • pass down through generationsverb

Opposites

Word lists with this word