选中 (xuǎn zhōng) — to select correctly; to pick the right one; to be chosen (passive)

Definition

选中 (xuǎnzhōng) means to select or be selected — the action of picking out the right one (or a person) from a group. Unlike plain 选, it emphasizes that the choice was successful or correct.

verb
to select correctlyto pick the right oneto be chosen (passive)

Examples

  • ，选中。
    Tā tóu le hěn duō jiǎn lì, zhōng yú bèi yì jiā dà gōng sī xuǎn zhōng le.
    He submitted many resumes and was finally selected by a big company.
  • 选中？
    Zhè dào tí de dá àn nǐ xuǎn zhōng le ma?
    Did you pick the right answer for this question?
  • ，选中。
    Zài zhè me duō hòu xuǎn rén zhōng, wǒ men xuǎn zhōng le tā.
    Among so many candidates, we selected him.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

选xuǎnchoose
中zhōnghit

选 is to choose and 中 is to hit the target, so it means picking the right one.

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.

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 →

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 →

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