辗转 zhǎnzhuǎn to toss about in bed
to toss about in bed; from person to person; indirectly; to wander
How to remember 辗转: 辗 to roll over + 转 to turn = to toss about in bed.
Characters
How it is used
- Two senses: tossing sleeplessly, and passing through many hands/places - 他辗转难眠 (tā zhǎnzhuǎn nánmián) he tossed and turned, unable to sleep.
- Figuratively, roundabout/indirect movement: 辗转多地 (zhǎnzhuǎn duō dì) moved from place to place; 辗转得到消息 got the news through a long chain.
- Literary and evocative; note reading 辗 (zhǎn) in this word. It conveys restlessness or a circuitous, hard route, not a direct path.