传递
chuándì · HSK 5
to transmit; to pass on to sb else; (math.) transitive
📨 传 chuán = pass on + 递 dì = hand over → relay/deliver
传 (transmit, broadcast) plus 递 (hand to, deliver in sequence) compound to mean passing something along a chain. Think of a relay: each runner 传s the baton, 递s it to the next.
传 — person radical 亻 + 专 (zhuān)
Originally a phono-semantic compound: 亻 (person) gives the meaning 'to pass on' between people, while 専/专 supplied the sound. Early uses referred to relay stations and messengers carrying word from place to place, which broadened to today's senses of transmitting, spreading, and handing down (as in tradition or biography).
递 — 辶 (walk) + 弟 (younger brother, phonetic)
递 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The 辶 radical means 'walk/movement,' giving the sense of carrying or passing something along a path. 弟 supplies the sound. The character originally meant to hand over or pass in succession, which extends to modern senses like 'deliver' and 'in turn.'