CHOOSE Function in Excel: Pick From a List by Number

⏱ 1 min readUpdated 28 September 2026

LookupLevel: IntermediateAvailable in: Excel 2007+

In this article
  1. Syntax
  2. Examples
  3. Example 1
  4. Example 2
  5. Related functions

CHOOSE returns the n-th item from a list of values you type in the formula.

Syntax

=CHOOSE(index_num, value1, [value2], ...)
Argument What it means
index_num 1 returns value1, 2 returns value2…

Examples

Example 1

=CHOOSE(WEEKDAY(A2), "Sun","Mon","Tue","Wed","Thu","Fri","Sat")

Day name.

Example 2

=CHOOSE(ROUNDUP(MONTH(A2)/3,0), "Q1","Q2","Q3","Q4")

Calendar quarter.

SWITCH · INDEX · CHOOSECOLS

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