推选

• Pinyin: tuī xuǎn
• Hanzi breakdown: 推 = 扌 (hand) + 隹 (bird, phonetic); 选 = 辶 (movement) + 巽 (comply)

Meaning

To elect; to nominate and select. Choosing someone for a position or role through collective nomination or voting.

More informal than 选举, and typically used in smaller group or organizational contexts — a committee selecting its chair, colleagues nominating a representative, etc. Suggests the person is put forward by peers rather than through a formal electoral process. Carries a positive connotation of trust from one's group.

Examples

1. 工会成员一致推选他担任新一届会长。 The union members unanimously elected him as president for the new term.
2. 大家推选经验最丰富的工程师作为项目负责人。 Everyone nominated the most experienced engineer as the project leader.
3. 她被村民推选为乡村文化活动的组织者。 She was elected by the villagers as the organiser of the village cultural activities.

Usage Guide

Context: organizational, community, professional

Tone: collegial

Do Say

• 大家推选他为代表出席这次会议。(Everyone nominated and selected him as the representative for this meeting.)
• 我们需要推选一位协调人来统筹这个项目。(We need to elect a coordinator to oversee this project.)

Don't Say

• 在全国大规模选举中用'推选'代替'选举' (推选 implies small-group nomination; for formal national elections use 选举)

Origin & History

Compound of 推 (put forward, recommend) + 选 (select, choose). Together mean 'put forward and select,' i.e., nominate and elect.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal