口耳相传

口耳相傳

kǒu'ěr-xiāngchuán

idiom

Meanings

这个故事在民间口耳相传了几百年。

Zhège gùshì zài mínjiān kǒu'ěrxiāngchuán le jǐbǎi nián.

This story has been passed down by word of mouth for centuries.

这家小店的口碑全靠口耳相传。

Zhèjiā xiǎodiàn de kǒubēi quán kào kǒu'ěrxiāngchuán.

The little shop's reputation runs entirely on word of mouth.

usage

Two natural fits: (1) oral folk traditions — legends, recipes, songs; (2) grassroots marketing — word of mouth for small shops, indie products.

grammar

Apostrophe: kǒu'ěr — syllable break before the vowel-initial 耳 (ěr).

口 kǒu

耳 ěr

相 xiāng

传 chuán