易位 (yì wèi) — to change places; to transpose; to dethrone (a monarch, leader, or in chess)

Definition

Literary/formal verb meaning 'to change places' or, in chess and for rulers, 'to dethrone'. It is a more formal alternative to 调换 and specifically covers the chess/royal sense of removing a piece or monarch from power.

verb
to change placesto transposeto dethrone (a monarch, leader, or in chess)
Easily confused

Examples

  • ，易位。
    Guó jì xiàng qí zhōng, wáng hé chē kě yǐ yì wèi.
    In chess, the king and rook can castle.
  • 。
    Nà wèi guó wáng bèi yì le wèi.
    That king was dethroned.
  • 易位。
    Zhè liǎng gè bù jiàn xū yào yì wèi cái néng zhèng cháng gōng zuò.
    These two components need to be transposed to work properly.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

易yìchange
位wèiposition

易 (change) with 位 (position) means to change place or position.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The early form of 易 was a drawing of a filled container, not a chameleon. It showed something full that could be given out.

Open 易 →

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
人人rénman
Sound part声符shēngfú
立
立lì位wèi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

位 combines 人 (man), related to people, with 立, which gives the sound. It was often simply written as 立.

Open 位 →

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