转移

• Pinyin: zhuǎn yí
• Hanzi breakdown: 转 = 车 + 专, to redirect; 移 = 禾 (grain) + 多 (many), to transplant/move

Meaning

To transfer; to shift; to relocate. Moving something or someone from one place, person, or state to another.

Used in many contexts: 转移资产 (transfer assets), 转移注意力 (divert attention), 转移阵地 (change position, military). In medicine: 癌细胞转移 (cancer metastasis). The word implies an active, deliberate movement or shift from one state to another.

Examples

1. 洪水来临时，当地居民被紧急转移到安全地点。 When the flood arrived, local residents were urgently relocated to safe locations.
2. 他试图用谈笑来转移大家对这个问题的注意力。 He tried to use jokes and laughter to divert everyone's attention from this issue.
3. 这家公司决定将生产基地转移到劳动力成本更低的地区。 The company decided to move its production base to a region with lower labour costs.

Usage Guide

Context: emergency, business, everyday

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 由于森林火灾，附近的村民已被安全转移。(Due to the forest fire, nearby villagers have been safely evacuated.)
• 你不要总是转移话题，我们需要正面讨论这个问题。(Stop changing the subject all the time — we need to discuss this issue directly.)

Don't Say

• 把'转移'用于物品的日常物理移动（例如把书从桌子上拿到书架上） (Don't use 转移 for simple, everyday physical movement of objects — use 移动 or 搬; 转移 implies a more significant relocation or deliberate diversion)

Origin & History

From 转 (to redirect/shift) and 移 (to move, 禾 grain + 多 many — crops transplanted one by one), together meaning 'to redirect and move elsewhere'.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal