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入选 (rù xuǎn) — to be selected (for a team, competition, exhibition, etc.)

Definition

入选 means 'to be selected / shortlisted' for something like a team, competition, or exhibition. It is passive and outcome-focused, unlike 评选 ('to select by vote/evaluation'), which is the active judging process.

verb
to be selected (for a team, competition, exhibition, etc.)

Examples

  • 入选。
    Tā rù xuǎn le jīn nián de ào yùn huì dài biǎo tuán.
    She was selected for this year's Olympic delegation.
  • 入选。
    Zhè bù xiǎo shuō rù xuǎn le guó jì wén xué jiǎng de duǎn míng dān.
    This novel was shortlisted for an international literary award.
  • 入选。
    Tā de shè yǐng zuò pǐn rù xuǎn le nián dù zhǎn lǎn.
    His photography work was selected for the annual exhibition.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

入rùenter
选xuǎnselection

入 means 'enter' and 选 means 'selection'; together they mean entering the selected group.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

入 is drawn as an arrowhead, indicating 'to enter'.

Open 入 →

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
HSK 3.0 Level 6Success & Failure

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