<p>Both 竞选 and 参选 are common with slight difference in usage. For example:</p>

<ul>
<li>你会不会参选？ (Will you "enter the election"?)</li>
<li>她会竞选连任。 (She will run for reelection.)</li>
</ul>

<p>It's hard to pinpoint when one will be favoured over the other, but the examples above will seem weird if the other phrase is used. I think it's due to the literal translation of the phrase: 参选 means "enter the election" and 竞选 means "compete in an election". (or maybe it's just convention that dictates which one is favourable.)</p>

<p>If you want to specify what office one is running for, you can express it as "选 + name of office". For example:</p>

<ul>
<li>她要选总统。 (She is running for president.)</li>
<li>他要选市长。 (He is running for mayor.)</li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-12T12:58:33.987Z
"她要选总统" and the other example sometimes will make people confused, if without context: she wants to vote in the Presidential campaign or she wants to run for president?
T-Pioneer
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-07-05T15:03:19.593Z
2019-07-05T15:03:19.593Z
Chen Jesse
<p>I’ve searched dictionary and found 2 words: 参选 and 竞选.</p>
<p>I’m a bit confused, since it seems that 参选 is used more, but in Vietnamese (my mother tongue) we used the word “tranh cử” (爭舉). So what is the correct word to use?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-07-05T10:54:18.653Z
I'm not sure which dictionary you checked, but tranh cử is 爭舉, not 競選
dROOOze
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-07-05T11:00:45.487Z
@droooze My bad, got mixed up
user20590
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-07-05T14:08:24.817Z
Both should be correct.
zyy
<mandarin><phrase-request>
How to say ‘run for office’ in Mandarin?
# How to say ‘run for office’ in Mandarin?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-07-05)

I’ve searched dictionary and found 2 words: 参选 and 竞选.

I’m a bit confused, since it seems that 参选 is used more, but in Vietnamese (my mother tongue) we used the word “tranh cử” (爭舉). So what is the correct word to use?

**Tags:** mandarin, phrase-request

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: I'm not sure which dictionary you checked, but tranh cử is 爭舉, not 競選  
> **username_0**: @droooze My bad, got mixed up  
> **username_2**: Both should be correct.  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2019-07-05. Score: 6

Both 竞选 and 参选 are common with slight difference in usage. For example:

* 你会不会参选？ (Will you "enter the election"?)
* 她会竞选连任。 (She will run for reelection.)

It's hard to pinpoint when one will be favoured over the other, but the examples above will seem weird if the other phrase is used. I think it's due to the literal translation of the phrase: 参选 means "enter the election" and 竞选 means "compete in an election". (or maybe it's just convention that dictates which one is favourable.)

If you want to specify what office one is running for, you can express it as "选 + name of office". For example:

* 她要选总统。 (She is running for president.)
* 他要选市长。 (He is running for mayor.)

> **Comments:**
> **username_4**: "她要选总统" and the other example sometimes will make people confused, if without context: she wants to vote in the Presidential campaign or she wants to run for president?  

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