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抉择 (jué zé) — to choose (formal, literary); to make a significant choice

Definition

抉择 means 'to make a significant, often difficult choice' — more weighty and literary than the everyday 挑选 ('to pick/select'), implying a decision with major consequences.

verb
to choose (formal, literary)to make a significant choice

Examples

  • ，抉择。
    Zài rén shēng de shí zì lù kǒu, tā zuò chū le yí gè zhòng dà jué zé.
    At the crossroads of life, he made a major choice.
  • 抉择。
    Zhè ge jué zé jiāng yǐng xiǎng wǒ men gōng sī de wèi lái.
    This choice will affect our company's future.
  • ，抉择。
    Miàn duì zhí yè fā zhǎn de píng jǐng, nǐ bì xū zuò chū jué zé.
    Facing the bottleneck of career development, you must make a choice.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

抉juépick/choose
择zéchoose/select

“抉” and “择” both mean to pick or choose, forming a formal word for making a choice.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

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 擇; 择 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
手手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
睪
睪yì擇zé
Same sound today

The traditional form 擇 has 手 (hand) for the meaning and 睪 for the sound; the simplified 择 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not historical.

Open 择 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Will & Intention

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