拣 (jiǎn): to choose, to pick, to sort out
拣 (jiǎn) is a Chinese character meaning “to choose.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 扌 (semantic) and 柬 (phonetic). It ranks #2727 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 拣 hand. Its radical form 扌 (hand) appears in many related characters such as 手 (shǒu, hand), 打 (dǎ, hit, make), 找 (zhǎo, to look for).
Definitions
- to choose
- to pick
- to sort out
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 拣 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 挑三拣四 | tiāo sān jiǎn sì | to be picky |
| 挑拣 | tiāo jiǎn | to pick and choose |
| 分拣 | fēn jiǎn | to sort (mail) |
| 挑肥拣瘦 | tiāo féi jiǎn shòu | (idiom) to cherry-pick |
| 暴力分拣 | bào lì fēn jiǎn | rough handling of parcels during mail sorting |
| 拣信室 | jiǎn xìn shì | mail sorting office |
| 雷公打豆腐，拣软的欺 | léi gōng dǎ dòu fu , jiǎn ruǎn de qī | the God of Thunder strikes bean curd, a bully picks the weakest person |
| 拣佛烧香 | jiǎn fó shāo xiāng | to choose which Buddha to burn incense to (idiom) |
| 拣起 | jiǎn qǐ | to pick up |
| 拣饮择食 | jiǎn yǐn zé shí | to choose one's food carefully |
| 披沙拣金 | pī shā jiǎn jīn | lit. to sort the gold from the sand (idiom) |
| 白拣 | bái jiǎn | a cheap choice |
| 拣选 | jiǎn xuǎn | to select |
| 拣择 | jiǎn zé | (literary) to select |
| 翻拣 | fān jiǎn | to browse and select |
拣 appears in 15 compound words: 40 as the first character, 33 as the last, and 27 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 拣 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (5)
to choose which Buddha to burn incense to (idiom); fig. to curry favor from the right person
lit. to sort the gold from the sand (idiom); fig. to separate the wheat from the chaff
to pick the best for oneself; to choose whatever is to one's advantage
to choose which Buddha to burn incense to (idiom); fig. to curry favor from the right person
lit. to sort the gold from the sand (idiom); fig. to separate the wheat from the chaff
to pick the best for oneself; to choose whatever is to one's advantage
Example Sentences
妈妈拣着孩子的手，慢慢地过马路。
mā mā jiǎn zhe hái zǐ de shǒu , màn màn dì guò mǎ lù .
Mom took her child's hand and slowly crossed the street.
祛湿汤料点样拣?中医讲解8款常用祛湿汤料功效/配伍 1...
祛 shī tāng liào diǎn yàng jiǎn ? zhōng yī jiǎng jiě 8 kuǎn cháng yòng 祛 shī tāng liào gōng xiào pèi wǔ 1 . . .
How to Choose the Right Ingredients for Dampness-Clearing Soups? A TCM Expert Explains the Effects and Formulations of 8 Common Dampness-Clearing Soups 1...
...k否认财困断粮 Yanny阿妹自由身慢慢拣新约
. . . k fǒu rèn cái kùn duàn liáng Y a n n y ā mèi zì yóu shēn màn màn jiǎn xīn yuē
...K denies financial difficulties and running out of food; Yanny and A-Mei are now free agents and taking their time to choose new contracts
睇急症怕贵点拣好?2026年全港13间私家医院急症室最...
睇 jí zhèng pà guì diǎn jiǎn hǎo ? 2 0 2 6 nián quán gǎng 1 3 jiān sī jiā yī yuàn jí zhèng shì zuì . . .
How to choose if you are afraid of being expensive? In 2026, the 13 emergency departments of private hospitals in Hong Kong will be the most...
不要对人家送的礼物挑三拣四，嫌东嫌西的。
Bù yào duì rénjia sòng de lǐwù tiāosānjiǎnsì, xián dōng xián xī de.
Don't look a gift horse in the mouth.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 拣 (jiǎn) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 拣 and 练?
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What characters sound the same as 拣 (jiǎn)?
Is 拣 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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