Topics · Primary Chinese · Word Choice (词语选择)
词语选择: choosing the word that fits
A sentence with a gap and four words underneath. All four usually mean something close — the question is which one this sentence will take.
- 179 exam papers analysed
- appears in 81% of P3 Chinese papers
- ~2 min read
01 Read the whole sentence before looking at the options
Cover the four options and read the sentence. Decide what you would put in yourself. Then look — one of the four is usually it.
Looking at the options first is what makes this question hard. Four similar words in a row all start to look possible.
Then put each option back in and read it. The wrong ones jar, and hearing that in your head is more reliable than reasoning about meaning.
02 What separates words that mean nearly the same
The four options are chosen to be close. What tells them apart is usually one of four things.
| What differs | Example pair | |
|---|---|---|
| Who or what it is used for | people or things | 位 for people, 个 for things |
| How strong it is | a little or a lot | 高兴 pleased / 兴奋 excited |
| Good or bad feeling | praise or criticism | 果断 decisive / 武断 arbitrary |
| What can follow it | the grammar, not the meaning | 看 a thing / 教 a person to do |
03 Working the options
Rule out two first. There are almost always two that are clearly wrong. That doubles your chances before you have decided anything.
Look at the word after the gap. It often decides. A gap followed by a person needs a word that can take a person.
Look at the tone of the sentence. If it is praising, a word that criticises is out even where it fits grammatically.
Never leave it blank. Four options means a blank scores nothing and a narrowed guess is worth taking.
04 How to say them
These are words most children have never said out loud, and a word you cannot say is a word you avoid using. The respelling is Hanyu Pinyin, with the tone marked over the vowel. Tap the speaker to hear it.
- 词语选择saycí yǔ xuǎn zé
Word choice — picking the word that fits the sentence from several similar ones.
- 近义词sayjìn yì cí
Words with similar meanings. The wrong options in this question are usually these.
- 褒义词saybāo yì cí
A word that praises. 果断 is one; its near-twin 武断 is not.
- 贬义词saybiǎn yì cí
A word that criticises. Putting one in a sentence of praise is a common mistake.
- 搭配saydā pèi
What a word can be used with. Often the real reason one option fits and another does not.
05 What each level is tested on
The same topic, asked differently as it goes up. The percentage is the share of papers at that level in which it appears.
- P2
Choosing between common nouns and verbs where only one makes sense.
Practise P2 Chinese Word Choice (词语选择) — 10 questions →71% of P2 Chinese papers
- P3
Similar words separated by strength or by what follows them.
Practise P3 Chinese Word Choice (词语选择) — 10 questions → Practise P3 Higher Chinese Word Choice (词语选择) — 10 questions →81% of P3 Chinese papers
77% of P3 Higher Chinese papers
- P4
Words that differ by whether they praise or criticise, and by fixed collocation.
Practise P4 Chinese Word Choice (词语选择) — 10 questions → Practise P4 Higher Chinese Word Choice (词语选择) — 10 questions →79% of P4 Chinese papers
35% of P4 Higher Chinese papers
06 Mistakes worth knowing about
Each of these is wrong. Decide why before you open it.
“I looked at the four options first.”
Read the sentence with the options covered and decide what you would put. Four similar words all look possible once you have read them.
“They all mean about the same, so any is fine.”
They differ in strength, in feeling, or in what can follow them. One of those three separates them.
“I picked the word I knew best.”
The familiar word is often the one the question put there to catch you. Test it in the sentence.
“I did not read the word after the gap.”
That word usually decides. A verb that takes a person and one that takes a thing are not interchangeable.
“I left it blank.”
Four options. Rule out the two that are clearly wrong and guess between the rest.
Now try it
30 questions across 3 levels, marked as you go with the working shown.