Ways to express "change" in Japanese


It seems that in Japanese, there are two kanji that are commonly used to
indicate change:

「化」

> 温暖化{おんだんか}: global warming, change in temperature
>
> 悪化{あっか}: worsen, change for the worse

「転」

> 転校{てんこう}: change schools
>
> 転職{てんしょく}: change jobs

What are the nuances between these two? Are there any other kanji that are
also used to describe change in yet a different way?




化 is a more general version of "change, " with an emphasis on transformation,
while 転 can only mean "change" in the sense of transferring or relocating.

For common kanji that roughly mean change though, there is also 変, 代, 替, and
換. 変 feels most generic, like "alter". 代 is closest to substitution. 替 is
closest to "replace." 換 is closest to "exchange."

That being said, I wouldn't suggest worrying about the nuances between kanji
meanings, since the meanings can never be exact, and they often overlap, and
can even be identical in meaning, but differing only in the words it is used
in or the reading.




化 is a more general version of "change, " with an emphasis on transformation,
while 転 can only mean "change" in the sense of transferring or relocating.

For common kanji that roughly mean change though, there is also 変, 代, 替, and
換. 変 feels most generic, like "alter". 代 is closest to substitution. 替 is
closest to "replace." 換 is closest to "exchange."

That being said, I wouldn't suggest worrying about the nuances between kanji
meanings, since the meanings can never be exact, and they often overlap, and
can even be identical in meaning, but differing only in the words it is used
in or the reading.

