选

Tap the pinyin to hear it

to choose; to pick; to select; to elect

Sound it out + + =

Formation & memory

Break the character into parts you already know.

Phono-semantic compound (形声字)

辶 meaning “walk” + 先 sound ( xiān )

Components 辶先

choose · Heisig RSH #297

road + 先 before

Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.

The most common words first — learning a character in context makes it stick.

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
种子选手	zhǒng zi xuǎn shǒu	seeded player
人选	rén xuǎn	choice of person; candidate
大选	dà xuǎn	general election
选区	xuǎn qū	electoral district; constituency
中选	zhòng xuǎn	to be chosen; to be selected
选中	xuǎn zhòng	to select; to choose; to decide on
自选	zì xuǎn	to choose by oneself; free to choose; optional; self-service
海选	hǎi xuǎn	(in elections for village committees in the PRC since the 1990s) unrestricted nomination, …
选手	xuǎn shǒu	athlete; contestant
文选	wén xuǎn	compilation; selected works
选出	xuǎn chū	to pick out; to select; to elect
新选	xīn xuǎn	newly elected
选美比赛	xuǎn měi bǐ sài	beauty contest
选点	xuǎn diǎn	to choose an appropriate location
点选	diǎn xuǎn	to select; (computing) to click on (one of several options); to navigate to (a webpage)
叶选平	Yè Xuǎn píng	Ye Xuanping (1924-2019), former Governor of Guangdong 廣東\|广东[Guang3 dong1]
选定	xuǎn dìng	to select; to choose; to settle on
民选	mín xuǎn	democratically elected
选民	xuǎn mín	voter; constituency; electorate
选本	xuǎn běn	anthology; selected works

Characters sharing the sound component 先 — compare how they read.