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自选 (zì xuǎn) — self-selected, optional, choose-your-own

Definition

'Self-selected, optional' — describes something the user freely chooses from a set (e.g. a 自选套餐). Pairs with nouns like 套餐, 动作, 商品 to mark a non-fixed, customizable option.

adjective
self-selectedoptionalchoose-your-own

Examples

  • 自选，。
    Zhè jiā cān tīng yǒu zì xuǎn tào cān, nǐ kě yǐ zì jǐ xuǎn cài.
    This restaurant has a build-your-own combo; you can choose the dishes yourself.
  • 自选。
    Tǐ cāo yùn dòng yuán yào wán chéng yí tào zì xuǎn dòng zuò.
    The gymnast must complete a set of optional routines.
  • 自选。
    Chāo shì de zì xuǎn shāng pǐn qū hěn shòu huān yíng.
    The self-service section of the supermarket is very popular.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

自zìself
选xuǎnchoose

自 means self and 选 means choose, so it describes choosing for oneself.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

假借jiǎjièLater borrowed for its sound alone — the picture has nothing to do with today’s meaning.

自 originally drew a nose. It was borrowed purely for its sound to write 自, so the picture and the meaning are unrelated.

Open 自 →

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
Abstract Concepts

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