choisir
/ʃwa.ziʁ/
To choose in French is choisir.
choisir is a general term for picking something and can be used in both formal and informal contexts. When you want to say you are choosing some or one of a group of things, you use the pronoun en before the verb, such as in en choisir un (to choose one of them).
Meaning: to pick (verb)
How does it change in a sentence?
choisir is a regular -ir verb, which means it follows the standard conjugation pattern for second group verbs. The past participle of this verb is choisi.
How do you pronounce it?
/ʃwa.ziʁ/ (two syllables)
Did you know?
- The French word choisir shares a distant ancestor with the English word 'choose'. They both trace back to the Proto-Indo-European root *ǵews-, which meant both 'to choose' and 'to taste'.
- The word choisir was inherited from Frankish or Gothic sources rather than Latin. This makes it a Germanic addition to the French language.
- In Old French, the word choisir originally meant 'to differentiate' or 'to see distinctly'. This implied that choosing required a clear visual distinction between options.
Examples in context
- C'est dur de choisir.It's hard to choose.This sentence shows how to use choisir to describe the difficulty of making a choice.Tatoeba #5701952 by Yemana, translation #5392537 by CK
- Tu peux en choisir un.You can choose one of them.This sentence demonstrates the use of the pronoun en with choisir to mean choosing one of something.Tatoeba #1474006 by Julien_PDC, translation #1473942 by Eldad
- Je vais en choisir un.I will choose one.This sentence shows how to use en with choisir to express the intention to choose one.Tatoeba #3794687 by Danquebec, translation #3793674 by CK
- Je dois sélectionner la meilleure option pour cette présentation.I have to choose the best option for this presentation.
- J'ai décidé d'opter pour la solution la plus économique.I have decided to choose the most economical solution.
- Nous devons choisir un nouveau président.We have to choose a new president.
- J'ai laissé piocher mes enfants dans la boîte à jouets.I let my children choose from the toy box.
- On prend quel parfum de glace ?Which flavor of ice cream are we going to choose?
- 152 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Chloé and Gabriel are looking at a menu in a restaurant.
- ChloéGabriel, tu veux choisir maintenant ?Gabriel, do you want to choose now?
- GabrielJe ne sais pas quoi choisir.I don't know what to choose.
- ChloéChoisis le plat du jour !Choose the daily special!
- GabrielD'accord, je vais choisir ça.Okay, I will choose that.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “choose” translations and entries choisir, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries choisir, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
