What does 转发 mean?

转发 is how information moves through Chinese internet. 转 (transfer/pass along) + 发 (send) = take what someone else posted and send it onward to your audience. On Weibo, 转发 is the equivalent of a retweet — the post appears on your profile with attribution to the original poster. On WeChat, 转发 means forwarding a message or article to a friend or group chat.

The distinction between转发 and 分享:

• 转发 — the action focuses on the content being passed forward. Common on Weibo (reposting) and WeChat (forwarding messages).
• 分享 — the action focuses on sharing broadly. The 分享 button is what you tap to send something to WeChat Moments, to a specific chat, or to another app.

The legal reality is important: Chinese law treats 转发 as potentially legally significant. The defamation law threshold — widely discussed online — states that defamatory content 转发ed more than 500 times or viewed more than 5,000 times can meet the threshold for criminal liability. While this is specifically about defamation, the principle that 转发 carries responsibility has shaped Chinese social media behavior.

The cultural phenomenon of 转发抽奖 (repost to enter a lottery) is a major driver of viral content. Brands and influencers post giveaways: “转发此微博并@三位好友, 抽一人送iPhone” (repost this Weibo and @ three friends, one person will win an iPhone). This mechanic has generated billions of reposts and is a fundamental growth tactic on Chinese social media.