移うつし替かえる

う

つ

し

か

え

る

Meanings

1

ichidan verb, transitive verb

shift; move; transfer; transplant

Moving something from one place or container to another; often physical, but can be abstract (e.g., data). 移し変える is especially natural for this sense.

植うえ木き鉢ばちから庭にわに花はなを移うつし替かえた。
I transplanted the flowers from the pot to the garden.

データを新あたらしいサーバーに移うつし変かえる作さ業ぎょうをしている。

We are working on transferring the data to the new server.

2

ichidan verb, transitive verb

transpose; exchange; displace

Swapping positions, exchanging contents, or rearranging order. 移し替える and 移し換える are typical spellings.

中なか身みを別べつの容よう器きに移うつし替かえてください。
Please transfer the contents to another container.
文ぶん章しょうの段だん落らくを移うつし換かえて、流ながれを良よくした。
I transposed the paragraphs to improve the flow.

Written forms

移うつし替かえるUsage31%
Common spelling for both senses; 替える suggests replacement or exchange.
移うつし変かえるUsage30%
Especially for shifting/moving something; 変える emphasizes change of location or state.
移うつしかえるUsage27%
Kana spelling of the verb stem; less common but unambiguous.
移うつし換かえるUsage9%
For transposing or exchanging; 換える suggests swapping or conversion.
うつしかえるUsage4%

Kanji

移shift, move, change
変unusual, change, strange
替exchange, spare, substitute
換

Similar words

移うつす
移す is the base verb meaning 'to move/transfer'; 移し替える adds the nuance of changing the container or medium.
入いれ替かえる
入れ替える focuses on replacing contents or swapping items, while 移し替える emphasizes moving something from one place to another.

Etymology

Compound of 移し (continuative form of 移す 'to move/transfer') + 替える/変える/換える 'to change/exchange'. The different kanji spellings reflect nuances of the second element.

interchange, period, change