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落选 (luò xuǎn) — to lose an election or competition; to fail to be elected

Definition

落选 (luòxuǎn) means 'to lose an election/competition' — a formal, written-style verb usually applied to candidates, not teams or players.

verb
to lose an election or competitionto fail to be elected

Examples

  • 落选，。
    Tā zhè cì luò xuǎn le, dàn xià cì hái huì jì xù nǔ lì.
    He lost the election this time, but he will keep working hard next time.
  • ，。
    Tā qù nián luò guò yí cì xuǎn, jīn nián zhōng yú dāng xuǎn le.
    He once lost an election last year; this year he was finally elected.
  • 落选，。
    Hěn duō rén méi xiǎng dào tā huì luò xuǎn, yīn wèi tā yì zhí hěn shòu huān yíng.
    Many people didn't expect him to lose, because he had always been popular.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

落luòfail
选xuǎnelection

The 落 sense of failing and the 选 sense of election together mean losing an election.

Characters in this word

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
艹Written in full as艸cǎo
Sound part声符shēngfú
洛
洛luò落luò
Same sound today

落 pairs 艹 with 洛; 洛 gives the sound, and 艹 relates to the meaning.

Open 落 →

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 →
Appears in
Government & PoliticsSuccess & Failure

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