HSK 4 · Verbs

转 zhuǎn “to turn” in Chinese

Traditional 轉

What 转 means

  1. to turn
  2. to change
  3. to pass on
  4. to change direction
  5. to transfer
More meanings from CC-CEDICT
  • to forward (mail)
  • (Internet) to share (sb else’s content)

How to say 转

  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale转zhuǎn3rd tone, dipping

转 in a sentence

  1. 向左转。

    Xiàng zuǒ zhuǎn.

    Turn left.

    Sentence #465034 from Tatoeba

  2. 去年他转校了。

    Qùnián tā zhuǎnxiào le.

    He changed schools last year.

    Sentence #7771679 from Tatoeba

  3. 天气转凉了。

    Tiānqì zhuǎn liáng le.

    The weather has turned cool.

    Sentence #10370977 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 转 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 转 (zhuǎn) with each of its parts in a different colour
转zhuǎnto turn
  • 车cart · chēMeaning part
  • 专concentrated · zhuānSound part

车 hints at the meaning (cart); 专 (zhuān) hints at the sound. Compare it with zhuǎn.

How to write 转

转 8 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

转 (zhuǎn) stroke order chart: each stroke of the character in the order you write it
Stroke order chart for 转 (zhuǎn). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 转

Words with 转

转告zhuǎngào · to pass on转变zhuǎnbiàn · to change转达zhuǎndá · to pass on扭转niǔzhuǎn · to turn around旋转xuánzhuǎn · to rotate转移zhuǎnyí · to transfer周转zhōuzhuǎn · turnover转让zhuǎnràng · to transfer (ownership)转折zhuǎnzhé · turning point

More words: Common Verbs

照zhào · to shine整理zhěnglǐ · to arrange只好zhǐhǎo · to have no other option but to …指zhǐ · finger祝贺zhùhè · to congratulate赚zhuàn · to earn自信zìxìn · to have confidence in oneself租zū · to hire

FAQs

转 (zhuǎn) means “to turn” or “to change”. It is an HSK 4 word.
Say it zhuǎn: zhuǎn with a 3rd tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 转 is written 轉. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type zhuan with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 转 from the suggestions. Typing zhuan into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
转 is an HSK 4 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

Turn words into conversations

A dictionary gives you the words. A native teacher shows you how to use them. Start with a free 30-minute intro call.

Book a free intro call

Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.