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选修 (xuǎn xiū) — to take (a course) as an elective

Definition

选修 (xuǎnxiū) means to take a course as an elective — its focus is on enrolling in optional classes, unlike the general 选择 ('choose, select') which covers any kind of choice.

verb
to take (a course) as an elective

Examples

  • 选修。
    Wǒ dǎ suàn xià xué qī xuǎn xiū yì mén yì shù kè.
    I plan to take an art elective next semester.
  • 选修。
    Hěn duō xué shēng dōu huì xuǎn xiū jǐ mén zì jǐ gǎn xìng qù de kè.
    Many students will take a few courses they're interested in as electives.
  • 选修。
    Lǎo shī jiàn yì wǒ men duō xuǎn xiū yì xiē bù tóng de kè.
    The teacher suggested we take more courses of different types as electives.

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.

选xuǎnchoose
修xiūstudy

选 “choose” and 修 “study” together mean choosing a course to study as an elective.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
彡彡shān
Sound part声符shēngfú
攸
攸yōu修xiū
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

修 is built from 攸, which gives the sound, and 彡, a set of three strokes that shows the meaning.

Open 修 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6School & Education

Browse more HSK 6 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.