‘转移’ (zhuǎn yí) is a verb meaning 'to shift' or 'to transfer' — literally combining 转 (to turn, to change direction) and 移 (to move, to relocate). Together, they convey the idea of moving something from one place, state, condition, or focus to another. It’s commonly used in both concrete and abstract contexts: physically relocating objects or people, shifting attention or responsibility, or describing medical processes like cancer metastasis.

The word often appears in formal, technical, or written language — especially in news reports, medical discourse, and policy documents. While it can be used transitively (e.g., 转移资金), it frequently appears with prepositional phrases indicating destination (e.g., 转移到…, 转移到了…). It carries a neutral-to-formal register and is rarely used in casual speech for everyday actions like ‘moving furniture’ — for which people would prefer 搬 or 移动 instead.