Word
選ぶ
Meaning in Englishchoose, select
Animated kanji stroke order
Word context
What it means
To choose or select from among options; to decide on a preferred option or course of action.
Main meanings
- to choose or select from options; to pick
- to decide on a course of action or preference
- to elect or nominate by vote in contexts such as voting for a candidate
How to use it
Used with the object marker を to indicate the thing chosen, in contexts from everyday decisions to formal selections; common in phrases such as 友達の中から一人を選ぶ (tomodachi no naka kara hitori o erabu), 自分の進路を選ぶ (jibun no shinro o erabu), 候補を選ぶ (kōho o erabu).
Variants and close terms
- 選択する (sentaku suru) to choose or select
- 決める (kimeru) to decide
- 選ばない (erabanai) not to choose
Composition
- 選: to select; 辶 radical indicates motion or action, while the phonetic cue points to the reading sen; together with the verb-ending ぶ forms the word meaning to choose
Etymology
On-yomi sen, from Middle Chinese xuǎn; Kun-yomi erabu, native Japanese reading with phonological shifts; this reflects a typical kanji reading development where the character carries a semantic core of selecting paired with a distinctive native verb form.
Word class
verb (五段動詞)