verb / noun HSK 5
zhí
to transplant · to graft · transplantation

Meaning

移植 literally means 'to move and plant,' and refers to transplanting something from one place to another. It's used for organ transplants in medicine, transplanting plants in gardening, and metaphorically for transferring ideas, culture, or technology from one context to another.

Usage

Commonly used in medical contexts (器官移植 'organ transplant') and agricultural contexts (移植树苗 'transplant seedlings'). Also used metaphorically in formal writing to describe adapting foreign concepts or systems to a new environment. The word is neutral in register and appropriate for both spoken and written language.

Examples

  1. 01
    他成功接受了肾脏移植手术。
    chénggōng jiēshòu le shènzàng yízhí shǒushù.
    He successfully underwent a kidney transplant operation.
  2. 02
    春天是移植树苗的好时节。
    Chūntiān shì yízhí shùmiáo de hǎo shíjié.
    Spring is a good season for transplanting seedlings.

Characters

Measure words

  • 一次移植手术
  • 三例器官移植

Common collocations

  • 器官移植
    guān zhí
    organ transplant
  • 移植手术
    zhí shǒu shù
    transplant surgery
  • 心脏移植
    xīn zàng zhí
    heart transplant
  • 文化移植
    wén huà zhí
    cultural transplantation

Origin

The word combines 移 (to move) and 植 (to plant), creating a compound that literally describes the action of moving something and replanting it elsewhere. This original agricultural meaning later extended to medical and abstract uses.

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