选 (xuǎn): to choose
选 (xuǎn) is a Chinese character meaning “to choose.” Classified as HSK Level 3 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 辶 (semantic) and 先 (phonetic). It ranks #499 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 选 walk. Its radical form 辶 (walk) appears in many related characters such as 边 (biān, side), 过 (guò, to pass, past), 还 (hái, still, return).
Definitions
- to choose
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 选 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 选
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 选择verb | xuǎn zé | to select | 3 |
| 选手noun | xuǎn shǒu | athlete | 5 |
| 挑选verb | tiāo xuǎn | to choose | 5 |
| 当选verb | dāng xuǎn | to be elected | 6 |
| 入选verb | rù xuǎn | to be included among those selected for | 6 |
| 选拔verb | xuǎn bá | to select the best | 6 |
| 筛选verb | shāi xuǎn | to filter | 6 |
| 评选verb | píng xuǎn | to select on the basis of a vote or consensus | 6 |
| 选修verb | xuǎn xiū | (at a school) to take as an elective | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 竞选 | jìng xuǎn | to take part in an election |
| 人选 | rén xuǎn | choice of person |
| 选举 | xuǎn jǔ | to elect |
| 候选人 | hòu xuǎn rén | candidate |
| 选票 | xuǎn piào | a vote |
| 选中 | xuǎn zhòng | to select |
| 海选 | hǎi xuǎn | (in elections for village committees in the PRC since the 1990s) unrestricted nomination, a type of election where 1.... |
| 选出 | xuǎn chū | to pick out |
| 选美 | xuǎn měi | beauty contest |
| 选民 | xuǎn mín | voter |
| 大选 | dà xuǎn | general election |
| 选项 | xuǎn xiàng | option |
| 参选 | cān xuǎn | to be a candidate in an election or other selection process |
| 候选 | hòu xuǎn | candidate (attributive) |
| 首选 | shǒu xuǎn | first choice |
选 appears in 100 compound words: 42 as the first character, 51 as the last, and 7 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 选 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (5)
Example Sentences
请从这三个方案中选择一个最合适的。
Qǐng cóng zhè sān gè fāng'àn zhōng xuǎnzé yí gè zuì héshì de.
Please choose the most suitable one from these three options.
没有你想的那么光鲜 有些冬奥选手已私下在做一事
méi yǒu nǐ xiǎng de nà má guāng xiān yǒu xiē dōng ào xuǎn shǒu yǐ sī xià zài zuò yī shì
Not as glamorous as you think Some Winter Olympians are already doing something in private
日媒民调:选民投票最重视候选人“是否支持高市”
rì méi mín diào : xuǎn mín tóu piào zuì chóng shì hòu xuǎn rén shì fǒu zhī chí gāo shì
Japanese media poll: Voters vote the most important thing about candidates "whether to support Gao City"
米兰冬奥|选手触壶作弊,场上飚起脏话,拒绝科技辅助....
mǐ lán dōng ào xuǎn shǒu chù hú zuò bì , chǎng shǎng 飚 qǐ zāng huà , jù jué kē jì fǔ zhù . . . .
Milan Winter Olympics | players touch pot cheating, the field biao up swearing, refused to technology assisted ....
...·杜特尔特宣布参加2028年菲律宾总统大选
. . . dù tè ěr tè xuān bù cān jiā nián 菲 lǜ bīn zǒng tǒng dà xuǎn
Duterte Announces Candidacy for 2028 Philippine Presidential Election
...国短道最靓的一个第五名——米兰冬奥会山东选手公俐..
. . . guó duǎn dào zuì 靓 de yī gě dì wǔ míng mǐ lán dōng ào huì shān dōng xuǎn shǒu gōng 俐 . .
...China's most dazzling fifth-place finisher in short track speed skating—Gong Li, the Shandong athlete at the Milan Winter Olympics...
他有机会赢得选举吗？
Tā yǒu jīhuì yíngdé xuǎnjǔ ma?
Does he have a chance in winning the election?
选手们的平均身高是多少？
Xuǎnshǒu men de píngjūn shēngāo shì duōshao?
What's the average height of the players?
你自己选择了这份工作，是吗？
Nǐ zìjǐ xuǎnzé le zhè fèn gōngzuò, shì ma?
You chose this job yourself, right?
谁选你来做这个任务？
Shéi xuǎn nǐ lái zuò zhège rènwu?
Who picked you for this mission?
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 选 (xuǎn) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 选 and 洗?
How many strokes does 选 have?
What is the radical of 选?
What are the components of 选?
What are common words containing 选?
What characters sound the same as 选 (xuǎn)?
Is 选 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 选 with real-time feedback
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