变迁
biànqiān · HSK 7
change
🔄 biàn = change + qiān = move — changes that move through time
变 means change or transform, 迁 means to move or shift. Together they describe the sweeping changes and shifts that occur over time — the vicissitudes of life, history, or circumstances.
变 — top 䜌 (phonetic) + bottom 又 (hand)
Originally written 變, a phonosemantic compound: 䜌 (luán) gives the sound while 攵 (a hand with a stick) suggested the action of changing or transforming. The simplified form 变 keeps the phonetic top in reduced shape over 又 (hand). Core meaning: to change, transform, or alter.
迁 — 辶 (walk) + 千 (qiān, phonetic)
迁 is a semantic-phonetic compound: the 辶 'walk/movement' radical gives the meaning of going or moving, while 千 supplies the sound qiān. The character originally meant to move from one place to another, and today it commonly means to relocate, transfer, or shift.