变现 (biàn xiàn) — to convert (assets) into cash, to liquidate

Definition

变现 (biànxiàn) means turning assets — stocks, property, receivables — into actual cash. It is a finance/business term, not everyday 'sell' (卖) or 'change into' (变成).

verb
to convert (assets) into cashto liquidate

Examples

  • 变现。
    Tā jué dìng bǎ gǔ piào biàn xiàn lái mǎi fáng zi.
    He decided to liquidate his stocks to buy a house.
  • 。
    Zhè xiē zī chǎn hěn nán biàn bù liǎo xiàn.
    These assets are hard to convert into cash.
  • 。
    Gōng sī tōng guò chū shòu fáng chǎn chéng gōng biàn le xiàn.
    The company successfully liquidated by selling real estate.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

变biànconvert
现xiàncash

变 “convert” and 现 “cash” form “convert to cash”.

Characters in this word

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 變; 变 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
攴攴pū
Sound part声符shēngfú
䜌
䜌䜌變biàn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 變 uses 䜌 as a sound part and 攴 as a meaning part.

Open 变 →

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 現; 现 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
玉玉yùjade
Sound part声符shēngfú
見
見jiàn現
Same sound today

The traditional form 現 pairs 玉 (jade) with 見 as a sound part; the simplified 现 is a shorthand, and its parts are not the historical parts.

Open 现 →

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