Comparing "bian" and "bianhua"

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变 (biàn) and 变化 (biànhuà) both are verbs that mean "to change," and can sometimes be used interchangeably. 变 is used in informal situations, whereas 变化 is used in both informal and formal situations. A key difference between these two words is that 变 can be followed by objects or other words, whereas 变化 as a verb cannot. 变化 can also be a noun.











B1HSK3ASV4567
变 (biàn) 变化 (biànhuà)
Meaning to change to change; a change
Part of Speech verb verb, noun
Formality informal flexible

变 is a verb

  • 几 年 不 见,你 了 。 Jǐ nián bù jiàn, nǐ biàn le.I haven't seen you for a few years. You've changed.
  • 我 觉得 她 一点 没有 Wǒ juéde tā yīdiǎn méiyǒu biàn.I don't think she has changed at all.
  • 时代 了。 Shídài biàn le.Times have changed.

变化 is often a noun

In English we often say something "has changed a lot." In Chinese, the normal way to express that idea is that (literally) "change has been big." To preserve this flavor, we've purposely used translations below where "change" in Engish is also a noun.

  • 十 年 没 见 他 , 他 的 变化 很 大 。 Shí nián méi jiàn tā, tā de biànhuà hěn dà.I haven't seen him for ten years and the changes are major.
  • 最近 的 天气 没有 变化 , 还是 很 冷 。 Zuìjìn de tiānqì méiyǒu biànhuà , háishì hěn lěng.There haven't been changes in the weather recently. It's still cold.
  • 和 十 年 前比 ,人们 的 观念 变化 很 大 。 Hé shí niánqián bǐ, rénmen de guānniàn biànhuà hěn dà.Compared to ten years ago, changes in people's perceptions have been significant.
  • 现在 的 政策 不 确定 , 每天 都 有 新 变化Xiànzài de zhèngcè bù quèdìng, měi tiān dōu yǒu xīn biànhuà .The policy is uncertain now, and there are new changes every day.
  • 因为 气候 变化 , 伦敦 在 圣诞节 的 时候 也 很 久 没 下 雪 了 。 Yīnwèi qìhòu biànhuà , Lúndūn zài Shèngdànjié de shíhou yě hěn jiǔ méi xià xuě le.Because of climate change, it hasn't snowed at Christmas time in London for a long time.
  • 改革 开放 以来 , 中国 社会 发生 了 深刻 的 变化 。 Gǎigé kāifàng yǐlái, Zhōngguó shèhuì fāshēng le shēnkè de biànhuà .Since the reform and opening up, Chinese society has experienced profound change.

变 can be followed by complements

变 + Adjective

Adjectives can come after 变 to form a result complement.

  • 秋天 来 了 , 树叶   了 。 Qiūtiān lái le, shùyè biàn huáng le.Autumn has come and the leaves have turned yellow.
  • 这 两 年 , 我 觉得 我 的 妈妈   了 。 Zhè liǎng nián, wǒ juéde wǒ de māma biàn lǎo le.In the past few years, I feel my mother has gotten older.
  • 我 最近 吃 得 很 多,我 感觉 我 了,衣服 了。 Wǒ zuìjìn chī de hěn duō, wǒ gǎnjué wǒ biàn pàng le, yīfu biàn xiǎo le.I've been eating a lot lately and I feel like I've gotten fatter and my clothes have gotten smaller.

变得 + ....

Use 变得 for all kinds of descriptive complements.

  • 我 的 女儿 长大 了 , 头发 也 变得Wǒ de nǚ’ér zhǎngdà le, tóufa yě biàn de hěn cháng.My daughter has grown up and her hair has gotten very long.
  • 自从 买 了 洗碗机 ,洗 碗 变得轻松Zìcóng mǎi le xǐ wǎn Jī, xǐ wǎn biàn de hěn qīngsōng.Since I bought a dishwasher, washing dishes has become a breeze.
  • 我 很 反对 这样 的 做法 , 会 让 事情 变得严重Wǒ hěn fǎnduì zhèyàng de zuòfǎ, huì ràng shìqing biàn de gèng yánzhòng.I'm against this. It makes the situation more serious.
  • 她 现在 变得 越来越 漂亮 了 。 Tā xiànzài biàn de yuèláiyuè piàoliang le.These days she's getting prettier and prettier.

变成 + noun

变成 is like "to turn into," and it can be followed by the noun that someone or something has turned into.

  • 他 最近 变成 单身 了 。 Tā zuìjìn biànchéng dānshēn le.He has recently become single.
  • 我 的 猫 和 我 朋友 的 小狗 现在 变成好 朋友Wǒ de māo hé wǒ péngyou de xiǎogǒu xiànzài biànchéng le hǎo péngyou.My cat and my friend's puppy have become good friends.
  • 他们 会 把 牛奶 的 颜色 变成 蓝色 , 就 像 星球大战 一样 !Tāmen huì bǎ niúnǎi de yánsè biànchéng lánsè, jiù xiàng Xīngqiú Dàzhàn yīyàng!They'll turn the color of the milk blue, just like in Star Wars!
  • 很 多 绿色 的 地方 未来 几十 年 会 变成 沙漠Hěn duō lǜsè de dìfang wèilái jǐshí nián huì biànchéng shāmò .A lot of green places will turn into deserts in the next few decades.

变 + noun

Some limited nouns can directly follow 变.

  • 样子 biàn le yàngzi.You've changed your appearance.
  • 把 这 件 衣服 放 在 太阳 下面,就 会 颜色Bǎ zhè jiàn yīfu fàng zài tàiyáng xiàmiàn, jiù huì biàn yánsè.Put this clothing in the sun and it will change color.
  • 听到 这个 消息,他 ,看起来 很 生气。 Tīngdào zhège xiāoxi, tā biàn le liǎn, kànqǐlái hěn shēngqì. When he heard the news, his face changed and looked angry.
  • 地铁 里 人 很 多,我的 面包 放 在 包 里面 ,被 挤 得 形状Dìtiě lǐ rén hěn duō, wǒ de miànbāo fàng zài bāo lǐmiàn, bèi jǐ de biàn le xíngzhuàng.The subway was so crowded that my bread, which was inside my bag, was squooshed and changed its shape.

变 and 变化 can sometimes be used interchangeably to mean "to change"

These contexts are limited, and usually occur in phrases where "changing" is expressed using 在.

  • 社会 变化,人们的 观念 也 变化Shèhuì zài biànhuà , rénmen de guānniàn yě zài biànhuà .Society is changing, and so are people's perceptions.
  • 社会 ,人们的 观念 也 Shèhuì zài biàn , rénmen de guānniàn yě zài biàn .Society is changing, and so are people's perceptions.
  • 情况 不断 变化Qíngkuàng bùduàn zài biànhuà .The situation is constantly changing.
  • 情况 不断 Qíngkuàng bùduàn zài biàn .The situation is constantly changing.
  • 我 一直 ,你 也 一直 变化Wǒ yīzhí zài biàn , nǐ yě yīzhí zài biànhuà .I keep changing and you keep changing.

Sources and further reading

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