Translation guide
The English verb "pick" has several core meanings: to choose or select, to pluck or harvest, to remove or take off, and to pick up or lift. This guide organizes Japanese expressions by these practical meanings, from most common to more niche uses.
To decide on one or more items from a group; to make a choice.
Pick a card. · I picked the red one. · She was picked for the team.
The most general and common verb for 'choose' or 'select'. Works for objects, people, options, etc.
Please pick a card you like.
He picked the red one.
Formal term for selecting someone for a position or role, like being picked for a team or committee.
She was picked as the representative.
To carefully pick out the best from many; 'hand-pick' or 'select with care'.
He picked out the best players.
To remove something from where it grows or is attached, like fruit, flowers, or feathers.
pick apples · pick flowers · pick a guitar string
Used for picking small things with fingers, especially flowers, tea leaves, or herbs. Also for pinching.
I picked flowers in the garden.
It's the season for picking tea leaves.
Specifically for picking fruit or vegetables by twisting or pulling off from a plant.
For playing a stringed instrument by plucking (e.g., guitar, harp). Not 'pick' in the harvesting sense.
To take something away from a surface or from where it is attached, often with fingers.
pick a scab · pick fluff off your sweater · pick your nose
General verb for 'take' or 'remove'. Can be used for picking off lint, stickers, etc.
I picked a piece of fluff off my sweater.
To pick at or dig into something with a finger or tool, often with a negative nuance (picking a scab, picking your nose).
To pick up or pinch something small with fingertips, like removing a hair or a crumb.
To lift something from a surface or the ground; to collect someone or something.
pick up the phone · pick up a coin · pick up the kids from school
To pick up something from the ground or a surface, often something dropped or found.
He picked up a coin.
Can mean 'pick up' in the sense of answering a phone or taking an object from a surface.
To go to pick up a person (from a station, school, etc.).
I'll pick up the kids from school.
To repeatedly criticize, tease, or treat someone unfairly.
Stop picking on your little brother. · He always gets picked on at school.
To intentionally start a fight or argument.
He's always trying to pick a fight. · Don't pick a fight with him.
To open a lock without a key, using tools.
He picked the lock and got in. · Can you pick this lock?
To clean or remove something from a body part using a finger or tool.
Don't pick your nose in public. · He picked his teeth after the meal.
When 'pick up' means to meet and collect a person, do not use 拾う (hirou), which is for objects. Use 迎えに行く (mukae ni iku) or 迎える (mukaeru).
I picked up my friend at the station.
摘む (tsumu) is for small, delicate items like flowers or tea leaves, often pinched with fingertips. もぐ (mogu) is for larger fruits or vegetables that require twisting or pulling off a stem.
I picked an apple.
Help me pick tomatoes.
Pick the guitar strings with your fingers.
Don't pick your scab.
Stop picking your nose.
I picked a hair off my clothes.
Please pick up the phone.
To pick something up and lift it; emphasizes the action of raising.
I picked up the fallen book.
彼女は彼をからかうのが好きだ。
She likes to pick on him.
To pick a quarrel by making a false accusation or finding fault.
He always picks a quarrel with me.