抉 (jué): to choose; to select; to pick o…

Meanings

1 to choose; to select; to pick out
2 to gouge out; to dig out

Characters

抉

jué

to choose; to gouge out

Examples

HSK 6

在这关键时刻，他必须做出抉择。

Zài zhè guānjiàn shíkè, tā bìxū zuòchū juézé.

At this critical moment he had to make a decision.

HSK 6

事业和家庭，是许多人艰难的抉择。

Shìyè hé jiātíng, shì xǔduō rén jiānnán de juézé.

Career and family is a hard choice for many people.

Tips

usage

Modern use is almost entirely 抉择 - a weighty, often agonizing choice between important options. Heavier in tone than the everyday 选择 (to choose).

Components

radical

扌 shǒu

hand (left-side radical)

Hand radical on the left, side-form of 手. It marks a hand action - picking out, singling out, prying loose. Same family as 挑 to pick, 择 to select (its partner in 抉择), 挖 to dig.

phonetic

夬 guài

decisive; resolute

Right side 夬 supplies the sound (guài to jué) and a fitting hint of 'decisiveness.' Same phonetic in 决 to decide and 缺 lacking - note the shared sense of cutting things off cleanly.