斗轉星移
简 斗转星移 · 繁 斗轉星移Meanings
- lit. the Big Dipper 北斗星 Běi dǒu xīng has turned and the stars have moved
- time flies
- also written 星移斗轉 xīng yí Dǒu zhuǎn
Characters in this entry
- 斗
- dòu · dǒu · a dipper; unit of volume (ten 升 or litres); Kangxi radical 68; 8th lunar mansion, determinative star φ Sagittarii
- 轉
- Look up this written character
- 星
- xīng · a star, planet; any point of light; 25th lunar mansion, determinative star α Hydrae (Alphard)
- 移
- yí · change place, shift; move about
- 转
- zhuǎn · shift, move, turn
Explore the spelling
Mandarin tones
3–3–1–2 · Dou3 zhuan3 xing1 yi2
Compare attested words with these syllables ↗Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.
Connected dictionary
Read this spelling in Classical texts
Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.
斗轉星移 · find source passages ↗ · 斗转星移 · find source passages ↗
Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading
Rime Cantonese 粵拼
dau2 zyun2 sing1 ji4
Cantonese word readings for 斗轉星移. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.
CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack
Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section
Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.
phrase
- (idiomatic) time flies; time passes
Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history
Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack