Japanese

Verb

選ぶ ‎(transitive, godan conjugation, hiragana えらぶ, romaji erabu)

1. to select; to choose
   • 2005: Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

     選ばれし者だったのに！

     You were the chosen one!

   • 2007 February 1, Mohiro Kitoh, “「切きり江え洋よう介すけ」③ ["Yōsuke Kirie" ③]”, in ぼくらの [Our], volume 6 (in Japanese), Tokyo: Shogakukan, ISBN 4-09-188349-4, page 55:

     イルカの死 (し)を悲 (かな)しんでも、家 (か)畜 (ちく)の豚 (ぶた)の死 (し)にいちいち涙 (なみだ)を流 (なが)す人 (ひと)はいない。それはそこに順 (じゅん)番 (ばん)をつけているからよね。だから知 (ち)人 (じん)の死 (し)と他 (た)人 (じん)の死 (し)、どちらかを選 (せん)択 (たく)しなくてはいけなくなったら、私 (わたし)は迷 (まよ)わず他 (た)人 (じん)の死 (し)を選 (えら)ぶ。

     Iruka no shi o kanashinde mo, kachiku no buta no shi ni ichiichi namida o nagasu hito wa inai. Sore wa soko ni junban o tsuketeiru kara yo ne. Dakara chijin no shi to tajin no shi, dochira ka o sentakushinakute wa ikenaku nattara, watashi wa mayowazu tajin no shi o erabu.

     People may feel sad when a dolphin dies, but no one sheds tears over a livestock pig. It's because those things aren't equally important to them. That's why, if I have to choose who to die between a friend and a stranger, I will always choose the the stranger.

2. to elect
3. to screen

Conjugation

Synonyms

• (to select/choose) 選択 (せんたく)する ‎(sentaku suru)
• (to select/choose) 選定 (せんてい)する ‎(sentei suru)
• (to select (literal)) 選出 (せんしゅつ)する ‎(senshutsu suru)
• (to choose (colloquial)) 選 (えら)び出 (だ)す ‎(erabidasu)
• (to screen (literal)) 選抜 (せんばつ)する ‎(senbatsu suru)
• (to screen (colloquial)) 選 (えら)び抜 (ぬ)く ‎(erabinuku)
• (to elect) 選挙 (せんきょ)する ‎(senkyo suru)

Related terms

• 選別 (せんべつ) ‎(senbetsu)

References

• 2002, Ineko Kondō; Fumi Takano; Mary E Althaus; et. al., Shogakukan Progressive Japanese-English Dictionary, Third Edition, Tokyo: Shōgakukan, ISBN 4095102535.