拣

• Pinyin: jiǎn
• Hanzi breakdown: 拣 = 扌 (hand) + 柬 (to select, phonetic) — selecting by hand

Meaning

To pick out; to select; to sort. Choosing items from among many, often implying careful selection.

Used when selecting or picking items from a group, such as choosing vegetables at a market or sorting through recycling. Can also mean to pick up something from the ground. Often interchangeable with 挑 in the sense of selecting, though 拣 emphasizes the physical action of picking through items.

Examples

1. 她在菜市场仔细拣了半天，才选出这几颗新鲜的西红柿。 She carefully picked through the vegetables at the market for quite a while before selecting these few fresh tomatoes.
2. 垃圾分类员每天要拣出数百公斤的可回收物。 The waste sorting workers have to sort out hundreds of kilograms of recyclables every day.
3. 别光拣好听的说，有什么问题直接提出来。 Don't just say what sounds good — if there's a problem, bring it up directly.

Usage Guide

Context: everyday, shopping, work

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 帮我拣几个熟透的芒果。(Help me pick out a few ripe mangoes.)
• 她在海滩上拣贝壳玩。(She's picking up shells on the beach for fun.)

Don't Say

• 用'拣'来描述抽象的选择 (Don't use 拣 for abstract choices like choosing a career path — use 选择; 拣 implies physical selection from tangible items)

Origin & History

Composed of 扌 (hand radical) + 柬 (to select; phonetic component). The hand radical indicates the action of physically picking or selecting.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal