换钱(huàn qián) - to change money, to exchange currency in Mandarin

换钱 (huàn qián) means to change money, most often swapping one currency for another at a bank, an airport counter or a hotel desk. It is built from 换 (huàn), "to change, to exchange, to swap", plus 钱 (qián), "money" - a transparent verb-object pair.

Because it is verb plus object rather than a single fused verb, other words can slot in between the two halves: 换了钱 (huàn le qián), "changed money completed", or 换一点儿钱 (huàn yìdiǎnr qián), "change a bit of money". That flexibility is normal for Mandarin verb-object compounds and is worth noticing, since 换钱 (huàn qián) is not always glued together the way a single English verb would be.

Context decides whether 换钱 (huàn qián) means foreign exchange or simply breaking a large note into smaller ones - 能帮我换钱吗 (néng bāng wǒ huàn qián ma), "can you help me break this note?", works at a till just as well as at a currency desk.