迁移
qiānyí · HSK 7
move
🚚📦 迁 (relocate) + 移 (shift) = move house, migrate, transfer over
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.
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.