中选 (zhòng xuǎn) — be chosen, be selected

Definition

中选 (zhòng xuǎn) means 'to be chosen/selected', usually in a formal selection or competition context. Note: 中 here is pronounced zhòng ('hit the mark'), not zhōng.

verb
be chosenbe selected

Examples

  • 中选。
    Tā zài bǐ sài zhōng zhòng xuǎn le.
    He was selected in the competition.
  • ，中选。
    Jīng guò miàn shì, tā chéng gōng zhòng xuǎn.
    After the interview, she was successfully selected.
  • 。
    Zhè ge xiàng mù yǒu shí rén zhòng xuǎn.
    Ten people were selected for this project.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

中zhōnghit
选xuǎnselection

中 (“hit”) + 选 (“selection”) suggests hitting the selection, i.e. being chosen.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The original picture showed a flagpole with a drum in the middle, set up in the center of a field.

Open 中 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 選; 选 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
止止zhǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
巽
巽xùn選xuǎn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 選 combines 止 with 巽, which gives the sound xùn; its sense of choosing is explained as rejecting or sending someone back. Simplified 选 is a shorthand.

Open 选 →

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