选读 (xuǎn dòu) — (noun) selected readings, anthology (a curated collection of texts for study); (verb-object) to select and read; to take an elective course

Definition

As a noun, 选读 means an 'anthology' or curated reading collection; the verb-object sense is to take an elective course or read selectively.

noun
selected readingsanthology (a curated collection of texts for study)(verb-object) to select and readto take an elective course

Examples

  • 选读。
    Zhè běn xuǎn dòu shōu lù le èr shí piān jīng diǎn sǎn wén.
    This anthology includes twenty classic essays.
  • 选读。
    Tā zhè xué qī xuǎn dòu le sān mén kè.
    He selected and took three courses this semester.
  • 选读。
    Lǎo shī tuī jiàn wǒ men mǎi nà běn xiàn dài shī gē xuǎn dòu.
    The teacher recommended we buy that anthology of modern poetry.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

选xuǎnselect
读dúread

选 and 读 give choosing and reading, picking out texts to study.

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 →

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 讀; 读 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánto say
Sound part声符shēngfú
𧶠
𧶠𧶠讀dú
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 讀 is made of 言 ('to say') and 𧶠 (giving the sound); this description is about 讀, not 读.

Open 读 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.