候选人
hòuxuǎnrén · HSK 7
candidate
🗳️ 候选 + 人 = await-being-chosen + person → the person waiting to be picked
候 means await, 选 means select, 人 means person. A 候选人 is literally a person awaiting selection — the one put forward to be chosen or voted on, hence nominee or candidate.
选 — 辶 walk + 巽 (xùn, phonetic)
选 combines the walking radical 辶 with 巽, which suggests the sound. The original sense relates to going through or passing by, extended to 'picking out' or 'choosing' from a group. The simplified form replaces the older 選.
人 — pictograph of a standing person
人 is a pictograph showing a person viewed from the side, with two strokes representing the legs and torso of a standing human. In oracle bone script it clearly depicted a figure leaning slightly forward. The meaning has remained 'person' or 'human' throughout its history.