चुनना (chunnaa)
verb
A transitive verb with two everyday senses: 'to choose/select' (elections, options, decisions) and 'to pick/pluck' (physically gathering things like fruit, flowers, or stones one by one).
Sense
1
:
to choose, select, elect
verb, transitive
Synonyms: चयन करना (chayan karnaa, formal), छाँटना (chhaantnaa, to select by sorting/picking out)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: This is the verb behind चुनाव (chunaav, 'election') -- so every election season, you will hear चुनना (chunnaa) constantly on the news: जनता ने उन्हें चुना (jantaa ne unhen chunaa, 'the public chose him'). It is also the everyday word for choosing anything from a menu, a shop shelf, or a career path.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners sometimes reach for छाँटना (chhaantnaa) when they mean a simple choice; छाँटना (chhaantnaa) leans toward sorting through options and picking out the best, while चुनना (chunnaa) is the neutral, all-purpose word for choosing, including voting in elections. 2) In the political sense ('to elect'), the object is the person elected, not the voters -- वे उसे नेता चुनते हैं (ve use netaa chunte hain, 'they choose him as leader') -- learners sometimes mismap the roles from English 'elect someone.'
Sample Sentences:
जनता ने उसे अपना नेता चुना।
The public chose him as their leader.
(jantaa ne use apnaa netaa chunaa।)
तुम मेनू से कुछ भी चुन लो, बिल मैं दूँगा।
You choose anything from the menu, I'll pay the bill.
(tum menoo se kuchh bhii chun lo, bil main doongaa।)
हर पाँच साल में हम अपनी सरकार चुनते हैं।
Every five years we elect our government.
(har paanch saal men ham apnii sarkaar chunte hain।)
अगर मुझे मौका मिलता, तो मैं दूसरा कॉलेज चुनता।
If I had gotten the chance, I would have chosen a different college.
(agar mujhe maukaa miltaa, to main doosraa kolej chuntaa।)
इस बार पार्षद जनता द्वारा सीधे चुना जाएगा।
This time the councillor will be directly elected by the public.
(is baar paarshad jantaa dvaaraa siidhe chunaa jaaegaa।)
मैं अभी भी सोच रहा हूँ कि कौन सा रंग चुनूँ।
I'm still thinking about which color to choose.
(main abhii bhii soch rahaa hoon ki kaun saa rang chunoon।)
उसने इंजीनियरिंग के बदले मेडिसिन चुनी।
She chose medicine instead of engineering.
(usne injiiniyring ke badle medisin chunii।)
समिति ने अध्यक्ष चुनने के लिए बैठक बुलाई है।
The committee has called a meeting to choose a chairperson.
(samiti ne adhyaksh chunne ke lie baithak bulaaii hai।)
प्रधानमंत्री का चुना जाना संविधान की प्रक्रिया के अनुसार होता है।
The election of the prime minister happens according to constitutional procedure.
(pradhaanmantrii kaa chunaa jaanaa sanvidhaan kii prakriyaa ke anusaar hotaa hai।)
कृपया अपना उत्तर नीचे दिए विकल्पों में से चुनें।
Please choose your answer from the options given below.
(kripyaa apnaa uttar niiche die vikalpon men se chunen।)
काश हम बेहतर उम्मीदवार चुन पाते।
If only we could have chosen a better candidate.
(kaash ham behtar ummiidvaar chun paate।)
Sense
2
:
to pick, pluck, gather (one by one)
verb, transitive
Synonyms: तोड़ना (todnaa, to pluck by breaking off, e.g. flowers/fruit), बीनना (biinnaa, to pick up/glean small items like grain or stones)
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: You will hear this in the kitchen a lot: घर की महिलाएँ अक्सर दाल या चावल चुनती हैं (ghar kii mahilaaen aksar daal yaa chaaval chuntii hain, 'women at home often pick over lentils or rice') to remove small stones or husks before cooking -- a very concrete, everyday image tied to this sense.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners often default to तोड़ना (todnaa) for all picking, but चुनना (chunnaa) specifically suggests a careful, one-by-one selection process -- picking the good ones out from a pile, like चावल चुनना (chaaval chunnaa, 'to pick over rice for stones/husks') -- rather than just detaching something from a plant.
Sample Sentences:
माँ रोज़ सुबह दाल चुनती है।
Mom picks over the lentils every morning.
(maan roz subah daal chuntii hai।)
दादी छत पर बैठी चावल चुन रही थीं।
Grandma was sitting on the roof, picking through the rice.
(daadii chhat par baithii chaaval chun rahii thiin।)
उसने कंकड़ चुनकर दाल अलग रख दी।
She picked out the pebbles and set the lentils aside.
(usne kankad chunkar daal alag rakh dii।)
पहले चावल अच्छी तरह चुन लो, फिर पकाना।
First pick over the rice properly, then cook it.
(pahle chaaval achchhii tarah chun lo, phir pakaanaa।)
अगर तुम दाल न चुनतीं, तो उसमें कंकड़ रह जाते।
If you hadn't picked over the lentils, there would have been pebbles left in them.
(agar tum daal n chuntiin, to usmen kankad rah jaate।)
घर की महिलाएँ अक्सर दाल या चावल चुनती हैं।
Women at home often pick over lentils or rice.
(ghar kii mahilaaen aksar daal yaa chaaval chuntii hain।)
खाना बनाने से पहले चावल ज़रूर चुन लेना चाहिए।
One should definitely pick over the rice before cooking.
(khaanaa banaane se pahle chaaval zaroor chun lenaa chaahie।)
दाल इतनी गंदी थी कि उसे चुनने में आधा घंटा लग गया।
The lentils were so dirty that it took half an hour to pick through them.
(daal itnii gandii thii ki use chunne men aadhaa ghantaa lag gayaa।)
बाज़ार से लाई गई दाल पहले चुनी जाती है, तभी पकाई जाती है।
The lentils brought from the market are first picked over, only then cooked.
(baazaar se laaii gaii daal pahle chunii jaatii hai, tabhii pakaaii jaatii hai।)
Morphology
Verb
infinitive:
चुनना
(chunnaa)
infinitive oblique:
चुनने
(chunne)
habitual/simple (sg.m):
चुनता
(chuntaa)
habitual/simple (pl.m):
चुनते
(chunte)
habitual/simple (sg.f):
चुनती
(chuntii)
habitual/simple (pl.f):
चुनतीं
(chuntiin)
continuous (sg.m):
चुन रहा
(chun rahaa)
continuous (pl.m):
चुन रहे
(chun rahe)
continuous (sg.f):
चुन रही
(chun rahii)
continuous (pl.f):
चुन रहीं
(chun rahiin)
perfective (sg.m):
चुना
(chunaa)
perfective (pl.m):
चुने
(chune)
perfective (sg.f):
चुनी
(chunii)
perfective (pl.f):
चुनीं
(chuniin)
imperative (informal):
चुन
(chun)
imperative (neutral):
चुनो
(chuno)
imperative (formal):
चुनिए
(chunie)
future (1sg.m):
चुनूँगा
(chunoongaa)
future (1sg.f):
चुनूँगी
(chunoongii)
future (1pl.m):
चुनेंगे
(chunenge)
future (1pl.f):
चुनेंगी
(chunengii)
future (2sg.m):
चुनेगा
(chunegaa)
future (2sg.f):
चुनेगी
(chunegii)
future (2pl.m):
चुनोगे
(chunoge)
future (2pl.f):
चुनोगी
(chunogii)
future (3sg.m):
चुनेगा
(chunegaa)
future (3sg.f):
चुनेगी
(chunegii)
future (3pl.m):
चुनेंगे
(chunenge)
future (3pl.f):
चुनेंगी
(chunengii)
subjunctive (1sg):
चुनूँ
(chunoon)
subjunctive (1pl):
चुनें
(chunen)
subjunctive (2sg):
चुने
(chune)
subjunctive (2pl):
चुनो
(chuno)
subjunctive (3sg):
चुने
(chune)
subjunctive (3pl):
चुनें
(chunen)