散布

• Pinyin: sàn bù
• Hanzi breakdown: 散 = 攴 (strike) + 𣎵 (loose fibers) = to disperse; 布 = 父 (hand) + 巾 (cloth) = to spread out

Meaning

To spread; to disseminate; to scatter widely. Used for the dispersal of things, people, information, or influence across an area.

Can describe physical scattering (散布各地 — scattered across various places) and informational spread (散布谣言 — to spread rumours). When used with negative objects like 谣言 (rumours) or 恐慌 (panic), it has a strongly negative connotation. More formal than the colloquial 传播 for information and more deliberate in implication.

Examples

1. 调查显示，该虚假信息在短短数小时内便通过社交媒体平台迅速散布至数以百万计的网络用户之中。 An investigation shows that within just a few hours, the false information spread rapidly through social media platforms to millions of internet users.
2. 这些稀有植物的种子依靠风力和鸟类的活动，自然地散布在山谷各处，逐渐形成了独特的生态分布格局。 Relying on wind and the activity of birds, the seeds of these rare plants naturally spread throughout the valley, gradually forming a unique ecological distribution pattern.
3. 当局警告，任何故意散布恐慌言论、扰乱社会秩序的行为，都将依法追究相应的法律责任。 Authorities warned that any deliberate spreading of panic-inducing claims that disrupt social order will be investigated and held legally responsible in accordance with the law.

Usage Guide

Context: information, media, nature, social

Tone: neutral to negative

Do Say

• 政府呼吁民众在公共卫生事件期间保持理性，不信谣、不传谣，更不应主动散布未经核实的消息。(The government called on the public to remain rational during public health events — neither believing nor spreading rumours, and certainly not actively disseminating unverified information.)
• 野花的种子通过风力散布至周边的草地和林间空地，几年后那片荒地便逐渐演变成了色彩斑斓的自然花园。(The seeds of wild flowers were scattered by the wind across nearby meadows and woodland clearings; within a few years, that barren patch of land had gradually become a colourful natural garden.)

Don't Say

• 他散布走在街上 — 散布 means to disperse/spread widely, not to stroll; use 散步 for taking a walk

Origin & History

散 (to scatter/disperse — 攴 to strike + loosened fibers = breaking apart and dispersing) + 布 (to spread/cloth — 父 father/hand + 巾 cloth = to spread cloth out) — to scatter and spread out

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal