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转手 (zhuǎn shǒu) — (verb-object) to pass on, to resell, to change hands; (in the idiom 一转手) in a flash, very quickly or easily

Definition

A verb-object meaning 'to pass on / resell' (something you've just acquired) — the action happens to goods, not information; also used as 一转手 to mean 'in a flash, very quickly'.

verb
(verb-object) to pass onto resellto change hands(in the idiom 一转手) in a flashvery quickly or easily

Examples

  • 转手。
    Tā bǎ nà liàng chē zhuǎn shǒu mài gěi le péng you.
    He passed on and sold that car to a friend.
  • 转手。
    Zhè ge diàn pù zhuǎn shǒu le hǎo jǐ cì.
    This shop has changed hands several times.
  • ，转手。
    Zhè me nán de shì, tā yì zhuǎn shǒu jiù zuò hǎo le.
    Such a difficult task, he finished it in a flash.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

转zhuǎnturn
手shǒuhand

转 means pass or turn and 手 means hand, so it pictures something changing hands.

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 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 →

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

手 draws a five-fingered human hand: the top line is a bent middle finger, and the horizontal lines show the other four fingers.

Open 手 →
Appears in
Business & Commerce

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