b-ch-r — to choose, to elect
ב.ח.ר (bachar) is the Hebrew root for choosing — the verb behind the chosen people, the chosen one, and the word Israelis use for a general election.
The word family
Every word below is built on ב.ח.ר. Same three letters, different vowels and prefixes.
Takes the preposition בְּ: בָּחַר בְּ־, "chose in" rather than "chose".
בְּחִירָה חָפְשִׁית (bechirah chofshit) is the standard term for free will.
Literally "the selected one" — what English calls the national squad.
In the text
וּבָחַרְתָּ בַּחַיִּים
u-vacharta ba-chayim
And you shall choose life.
Roots this gets confused with
These look close in transliteration and are not close in Hebrew.
What I tell students about this root
Worth knowing that this verb almost never stands alone in the Bible — it wants בְּ after it. That small preposition is the difference between choosing an option off a list and settling on someone. When Deuteronomy says God bachar b'Israel, the grammar is closer to "fixed on" than "picked".