zhái
择
trim; untangle
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
2 senses · 6 examplesverb
to trim vegetables; remove inedible parts
informalOnly used in fixed phrase 择菜 in daily spoken Chinese.
Mā妈
ma妈
zhèng正
zài在
chú厨
fáng房
zhái择
cài菜
zhǔn准
bèi备
wǎn晚
fàn饭
。
Mom is trimming vegetables in the kitchen to prepare dinner.
Zhōu周
mò末
wǒ我
huì会
bāng帮
nǎi奶
nai奶
zhái择
cài菜
。
I will help grandma trim vegetables on weekends.
verb
to untangle messy thread/rope
informalUsed for physical tangled objects, mostly in spoken daily contexts.
Wǒ我
fèi费
le了
bàn半
tiān天
jìn劲
，
cái才
bǎ把
nà那
tuán团
luàn乱
máo毛
xiàn线
zhái择
kāi开
le了
。
It took me quite a while to untangle that ball of messy yarn.
Mèi妹
mei妹
bǎ把
ěr耳
jī机
xiàn线
chán缠
chéng成
le了
yī一
tuán团
，
wǒ我
huā花
le了
hǎo好
jiǔ久
cái才
zhái择
kāi开
。
My sister tangled the earphone cords into a ball, and it took me a long time to untangle them.
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Yé爷
ye爷
bāng帮
wǒ我
zhái择
kāi开
le了
chán缠
zài在
yī一
qǐ起
de的
diào钓
yú鱼
xiàn线
。
Grandpa helped me untangle the tangled fishing line.
Zhè这
kǔn捆
luàn乱
má麻
shéng绳
hěn很
nán难
zhái择
kāi开
。
This bundle of tangled hemp rope is hard to untangle.