ZHIZHI 知止 · LEARN CHINESE DAILY
变
to change
biàn
8 strokes · 亦 over 又 (hand) — simplified from 變 with silk threads · HSK 3
Where 变 comes from
The old form 變 showed tangled silk threads and a hand striking — forcibly rearranging the strands. Change in Chinese carries that feel: threads pulled into a new pattern.
变 in Chinese culture
变化 change, 改变 alter, 变成 turn into. The 变脸 face-changing of Sichuan opera — masks swapped faster than the eye can see — is China's most literal spectacle of 变.
Example
变化 biànhuà — change
这个城市变化很大。
Zhège chéngshì biànhuà hěn dà.
This city has changed a lot.
How to remember it
A hand rearranges the threads — everything CHANGES.
The I Ching 易经, China's oldest classic, is literally 'the classic of change' — 3,000 years of philosophy about 变.
Same sound, different tones
Words unlocked by 变
变化 biànhuà
change
变成 biànchéng
to turn into
Related characters
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