Comparing "bian" and "bianhua"

变 and 变化 both are verbs that mean to change and while they can sometimes be used interchangeably, they are often used differently. 变 is used in informal situations, whereas 变化 is used in informal/formal situations. A key difference between these two words is that 变 can be followed by an object, whereas 变化 cannot. A final difference is 变化 is also a noun.

变化的常见搭配…… 发生变化、起变化、有变化