择友 (zé yǒu) — to choose friends | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

择友 means choosing one's friends carefully, with the focus on selecting (择) rather than on the friendship itself. It is a written/formal phrase; in everyday speech, friends are usually chosen with 交 (交朋友).

verb

to choose friends

Examples

择友。
zé yǒu Shì rén shēng zhōng hěn zhòng yào de yí kè.
Choosing friends is a very important lesson in life.
。
Tā zé le jǐ gè zhēn xīn de yǒu.
He chose a few sincere friends.
择友，。
Nǐ yào shèn zhòng zé yǒu, jiāo zhèng zhí de rén.
You should carefully choose friends and make friends with honest people.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

择zéchoose

择 (choose) + 友 (friend) means choosing friends.

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 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.

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

又又友

又又yòu
又又yòu

友 is drawn as two 又, the hand form, side by side. The old explanation says two hands together mean friendship.

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