傳

Phono-semantic compound:

人 (person) provides the semantic component, relating to human action.

專 (exclusive, focused; phonetic) provides the sound.

Original sense: “a person conveying something exclusively” - “to transmit, to pass on.”

Semantic range:

- to transmit, pass on, hand down (전하다, 전해지다);

- to communicate, convey, spread (소식을 전하다, 병이 전염되다);

- to entrust or delegate (사명을 전하다);

- written record, biography (전기 傳記, 불전 佛傳).

傳達 (전달) — to deliver, convey

傳統 (전통) — tradition

宣傳 (선전) — propaganda, publicity

傳記 (전기) — biography

傳染 (전염) — infection, contagion

In Confucian and Buddhist contexts, 傳 emphasizes the continuity of teachings.

불교: 법(法)을 제자에게 “전수(傳授)”하는 개념은 수행 계보(傳法譜)와 직결된다.

유교: 성인의 도를 “전(傳)”하여 후세에 이어감이 교육과 문헌 편찬의 핵심으로 여겨졌다.

In East Asian historiography, 傳記 (전기) was a vital genre, recording exemplary lives to transmit moral lessons.