传真

Etymology & Components

The Chinese word 传真 (chuánzhēn) is composed of two characters: 传 (chuán), meaning "to transmit" or "to pass on", and 真 (zhēn), meaning "true" or "real". Together, these characters form the word 传真, which literally means "to transmit the truth" or "to transmit reality".In the context of technology, 传真 specifically refers to the process of transmitting images, text, or other documents over a telecommunications line. This technology was originally developed in the 19th century and was widely used in the 20th century before being largely replaced by electronic mail (电子邮件, diànzǐ yóujiàn) and other digital communication methods.In modern Chinese, 传真 can also be used as a noun to refer to a fax machine (传真机, chuánzhēn jī) or a faxed document (传真件, chuánzhēn jiàn).