广播

• Pinyin: guǎng bō
• Hanzi breakdown: 广 = simplified from 廣, a broad roof — wide; 播 = 扌(hand) + 番 (to scatter seeds) — to sow or spread

Meaning

Broadcast; radio. To transmit information to the public via radio or speakers.

Functions as both a verb (to broadcast) and a noun (a broadcast/radio). Common uses: 广播电台 (radio station), 校园广播 (campus broadcast/PA system), 广播体操 (broadcast calisthenics — a set of exercises done to radio instructions). Still widely used in daily life despite the digital age.

Examples

1. 学校的广播正在播放音乐。 The school broadcast is playing music.
2. 请注意听车站的广播通知。 Please listen carefully to the station's broadcast announcement.
3. 她小时候每天都听广播。 When she was young, she listened to the radio every day.

Usage Guide

Context: media, school, transport

Tone: informative

Do Say

• 广播里说飞机要晚点了。(The broadcast said the plane will be delayed.)
• 你喜欢听广播吗？(Do you like listening to the radio?)

Don't Say

• 我广播了一条消息给朋友。(Don't use 广播 for private messaging — it means public broadcast. Say 我发了一条消息给朋友.)

Origin & History

Compound of 广 (wide/broad) and 播 (to sow/spread). Together they mean 'to spread widely' — to broadcast.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal