Chinese word

换位

Pronunciation

Pinyinhuàn wèi

Meaning

  • verbswitch places

Example

两个学生互相换位了。liǎng gè xué shēng hù xiāng huàn wèi le

The two students switched places.

Illustration for 换位 (switch places)

More examples

比赛中，教练让几名球员互相换位以应对对方战术。bǐ sài zhōng jiào liàn ràng jǐ míng qiú yuán hù xiāng huàn wèi yǐ yìng duì duì fāng zhàn shù

During the game, the coach had several players switch places with each other to respond to the opposing team's tactics.

Core concept

Two people or things trade their spots in space or in an order, so each takes the other's position.

Common phrases

  • 互相换位hù xiāng huàn wèi

    switch places with each other

  • 轮流换位lún liú huàn wèi

    take turns switching places

  • 与他人换位yǔ tā rén huàn wèi

    switch places with others

Similar words

交换jiāo huàn: Exchange people, things, or positions with each other.
调换diào huàn: Move a person, thing, or role to a different place, order, or assignment.
互换hù huàn: Mutually exchange things or positions so that each takes the other's place.
轮换lún huàn: Change positions or roles in turn among several people or things.

Definition in Chinese

表示两人或物互相把各自的地点或顺序对换。biǎo shì liǎng rén huò wù hù xiāng bǎ gè zì de dì diǎn huò shùn xù duì huàn

Word origin

换 (huàn, "change") + 位 (wèi, "position") forms a verb for changing the positions held by two people or things.

Usage tips

  • In everyday conversation, the surrounding context shows whether the exchanged positions are seats, places in a line, or roles in an activity.

Opposites

Related words

  • 换位思考huàn wèi sī kǎoperspective-takingnoun

Word lists with this word