Choosing a menu item with 〜ておく

Grammar Explanation: Doing in advance with 〜ておく

Looking over the menu of tea choices, Rize wonders which will be appropriate for her.

リゼ:: 「適当(てきとう)に選(えら)んどくか」; “Shall I just pick something at random in advance?”; Literal: “Shall I choose something randomly and leave it done?”

Key Points

1選(えら)んどく contracts 選(えら)んでおく

The sequence んでおく contracts to んどく in casual speech.

2〜ておく treats the choice as settling something in advance

Rize considers choosing now so the menu decision will be handled when she needs to order.

3適当(てきとう)に and か make the choice sound casual

適当(てきとう)に means choosing without much care here, and final か voices Rize’s thought to herself.

Vocabulary

適当 (Appropriate)

適当(てきとう) means appropriate, suitable, or fitting. In casual use it can also mean careless or random, but the core idea is matching what fits the situation.