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辗转 (zhǎn zhuǎn) — to toss and turn (in bed); to pass from person to person; to move from place to place

Definition

Literary verb with two senses: 'toss and turn' in bed (more written than the colloquial idiom 翻来覆去) and 'pass through many hands / places' (news, travel). Unlike 折腾, it does not mean causing trouble.

verb
to toss and turn (in bed)to pass from person to personto move from place to place

Examples

  • ，辗转。
    Tā yīn wèi xīn shì tài zhòng, zài chuáng shàng zhǎn zhuǎn le yì zhěng yè.
    Because he had too many worries, he tossed and turned in bed all night.
  • 辗转，。
    Zhè ge xiāo xi jīng guò duō cì zhǎn zhuǎn, yǐ jīng chuán biàn le quán chéng.
    This news, having been passed around many times, has spread throughout the whole city.
  • 辗转，。
    Tā nián qīng shí zhǎn zhuǎn gè dì, jī lěi le fēng fù de jīng yàn.
    When he was young, he traveled from place to place and accumulated rich experience.

Origin

Single-morpheme word
构词法gòucífǎ
联绵liánmiánBound pair

Two characters that only ever appear together, spelling one ancient two-syllable word.

辗niǎn
转zhuǎn

The characters 辗 and 转 carry no meaning of their own here; together they express tossing or moving indirectly.

Sound-only characters

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 輾; 辗 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
車車jūcart
Sound part声符shēngfú
㞋
㞋㞋輾zhǎn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

For 辗, the traditional form 輾 has 車, a cart, on the left and 展 as a sound part.

Open 辗 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 轉; 转 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
車車jūcarriage
Sound part声符shēngfú
專
專zhuān轉zhuǎn
Same sound today

The traditional form 轉 combines 車, a carriage, with 專 as a sound part; the simplified 转 is a later shorthand.

Open 转 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Daily Routine

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