| 候选 | hòu xuǎn | candidate (attributive) |  |
| 人选 | rén xuǎn | choice of person / candidate |  |
| 候选人 | hòu xuǎn rén | candidate / CL:名[ming2] | |
| 参选人 | cān xuǎn rén | election participant / candidate | |
| 考生 | kǎo shēng | exam candidate / student whose name has been put forward for an exam | |
| 选中 | xuǎn zhòng | to choose / to pick / to settle upon / to decide upon a candidate / to be selected for some role | |
| 增生 | zēng shēng | growth (of organism) / proliferation / supernumerary candidate (in imperial examation system) | |
| 进士 | jìn shì | successful candidate in the highest imperial civil service examination / palace graduate | |
| 举人 | jǔ rén | graduate / successful candidate in the imperial provincial examination | |
| 参选 | cān xuǎn | to be a candidate in an election or other selection process / to run for office / to turn out to vote | |
| 探花 | tàn huā | candidate who came third in the Han-lin examination / see 狀元|状元[zhuang4 yuan2] | |
| 背书 | bèi shū | to recite a text from memory / to learn a text by heart / to back / to endorse (a political candidate, product, check etc) / backing / endorsement | |
| 榜眼 | bǎng yǎn | candidate who came second in the Han-lin examination / see 狀元|状元[zhuang4 yuan2] | |
| 独占鳌头 | dú zhàn áo tóu | to come first in triennial palace examinations (idiom, refers to the carved stone turtle head in front of the imperial palace, next to which the most successful candidate in the imperial examinations was entitled to stand) / to be the champion / to be the very best in any field | |
| 桑德斯 | Sāng dé sī | Sanders (name) / Bernie Sanders, United States Senator from Vermont and 2016 Presidential candidate | |
| 孝廉 | xiào lián | xiaolian, two examination subjects in Han, later a single subject in Ming and Qing / successful second degree candidate | |
| 解元 | jiè yuán | first-placed candidate in the provincial imperial examinations (old) | |
| 候选国 | | candidate country | |
| 童生 | tóng shēng | candidate who has not yet passed the county level imperial exam | |
| 穆萨维 | Mù sà wéi | Moussavi, Mir Hussein (1941-), candidate in Iran's disputed 2009 elections | |
| 邓亮洪 | dèng liàng hóng | Tang Liang Hong (opposition candidate in Jan 1996 Singapore elections) | |
| 报条 | bào tiáo | report of success from a candidate to the imperial examination (old) / list of deaths | |
| 武举 | wǔ jǔ | successful military candidate in the imperial provincial examination | |
| 甲第 | jiǎ dì | residence of a noble / top candidate in the imperial examinations | |
| 贡士 | gòng shì | (old) candidate who has successfully passed the first grades of the examination system, but not yet the court examination (殿試|殿试[dian4 shi4]) | |
| 贡生 | gòng shēng | candidate for the Imperial Examination proposed by a tributary state | |
| 名册候选人 | míng cè hòu xuǎn rén | roster candidate | |
| 最合格的人选 | | best-qualified candidate | |
| 内部候选人 | nèi bù hòu xuǎn rén | internal candidate | |
| 获支持的候选人 | | endorsed candidate | |
| 实验疫苗 | | candidate vaccine | |
| 案首 | àn shǒu | candidate who ranked 1st in imperial examination on prefecture or county level (in Ming and Qing dynasties) | |
