(qiān) - to move & to change

Tone 1

qiān | 6 strokes | radical: 辶

· qiān

to move;

to change;

to transfer;

to relocate;

to promote or demote in official position.

to moveto changeto transfer

Usage highlights

to move houseto relocate the capitalmigrationto move to a new locationpromotion and demotionto move a grave

Synonyms

  • to move; to shift
  • to move; to transport
  • to move; to migrate

Antonyms

  • to stay; to remain
  • to guard; to defend

Usage & contexts

Examples

  • The company will relocate its headquarters (迁都).
  • They moved to a new city (迁居).
  • The government relocated residents for the project (迁移).
  • He was promoted to a higher position (升迁).

Collocations

  • to move house(迁居)
  • to relocate the capital(迁都)
  • migration(迁移)
  • to move to a new location(迁址)
  • promotion and demotion(升迁)
  • to move a grave(迁坟)

Idioms

  • Moving one's abode thrice makes a good neighbor(孟母三迁)
  • To change one's views to suit another(迁就)
  • To change with each passing day(日迁月化)
  • To be slow in movement and speech(迁缓)

Cultural background

FAQ
  • Historically associated with official transfers and capital relocations in imperial China.
  • The story of Mencius's mother moving three times (孟母三迁) is a famous parable about the importance of environment in education.

FAQ