移交
yí jiāo · HSK 7
to transfer
📦🤝 移 (move) + 交 (hand over) = move something over and hand it off = transfer
移 means to shift or move, and 交 means to deliver or hand over. Together they describe formally passing something — duties, property, a case file — from one party to the next. Think handover of responsibility, not a casual pass.
移 — grain 禾 + many 多
Originally a semantic-phonetic compound: 禾 (grain) gives the meaning and 多 (duō) suggested the sound in Old Chinese. It first referred to transplanting rice seedlings, then broadened to mean 'to move, shift, or relocate' in general.
交 — top 亠 + 父-like crossed legs
Originally a pictograph of a person standing with legs crossed, showing the idea of crossing or intersecting. From this concrete image, the meaning extended to abstract senses like 'exchange,' 'interact,' and 'hand over.' Modern uses such as 交流 (exchange) and 交通 (traffic) all trace back to this core notion of crossing.