选材 (xuǎn cái) — to select material (for a project, product, or artistic work); to choose suitable personnel (for a role or team)

Definition

选材 means to pick the right material or the right person for a job — used in writing, production, and HR contexts where the choice of input directly shapes the result.

verb
to select material (for a project, product, or artistic work)to choose suitable personnel (for a role or team)

Examples

  • 选材。
    Zhè bù diàn yǐng zài xuǎn cái shàng huā le hěn duō shí jiān.
    This film spent a lot of time on material selection.
  • 选材，。
    Gōng sī zhè cì xuǎn cái fēi cháng yán gé, zhī zhāo le liǎng gè rén.
    The company was very strict in selecting personnel this time, only hiring two people.
  • ，。
    Tā xuǎn le hǎo jǐ zhǒng cái, zuì hòu jué dìng yòng mù tou.
    He selected several kinds of material and finally decided to use wood.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

选xuǎnselect
材cáimaterial

选 (select) and 材 (material) combine to mean selecting material.

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
木木mù
Sound part声符shēngfú
才
才cái材cái
Same sound today

材 combines 木, wood, with 才, cái, as its sound part.

Open 材 →

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