换

換
huàn
verb HSK 3 #512

Meanings

  1. 1 to change
  2. 2 to exchange

Examples

HSK 1
Wǒ xiǎng huàn yí jiàn yīfu.
I want to change my clothes.
HSK 3
Wǒ xūyào huànqián.
I need to exchange money.
HSK 4
Kěyǐ huàn gè zuòwèi ma?
Can I change seats?

Tips

usage
换 means replacing one thing with another: 换衣服, 换工作, 换钱.
grammar
换成 means change into: 把美元换成人民币 (change dollars into RMB).

Components

radical
扌 shǒu
hand (left-side form)
Left hand radical 扌 - the contracted form of 手. Carries the meaning core: exchanging or swapping is a manual act, you take one thing and put down another. Anchors 换 in the hand-action family alongside 拿 (take), 抓 (grab), 把 (grasp), 换 fits in the same row as 提, 推, 拉 - physical handling verbs.
phonetic
奂 huàn
splendid; abundant
Right component supplies the sound: 奂 huàn → huàn (exact match, just bare-tone identity). 奂 originally depicted a flow or transfer from above, fitting the swap-and-flow sense of exchanging. Same phonetic in 焕 (shining), 痪 (paralysis), 涣 (dispersed) - a tight huàn-family.

Stroke Order

换 huàn