---
title: "What is the difference between plural and select in ICU message format?"
description: "A plural argument picks a branch from a number using the locale's CLDR plural categories and exact matches such as `=0`. A select argument picks a branch from a string value such as a gender, and selectordinal is plural for ordinals (1st, 2nd, 3rd). All three need an `other` branch."
category: icu-message-format
date: 2026-10-09
canonical: https://localizely.com/i18n-questions/icu-message-format/what-is-the-difference-between-plural-and-select-in-icu-message-format/
---

# What is the difference between plural and select in ICU message format?

`plural` chooses a branch from a number: the value is matched against exact cases such as `=0` and then against the CLDR plural categories of the locale. `select` chooses a branch from an arbitrary string, typically a gender or a status, by exact keyword match. `selectordinal` is `plural` for ordinal numbers (1st, 2nd, 3rd). All three must contain an `other` branch, otherwise the message does not parse.

A plural message:

```icu-message-format
{count, plural, =0 {No new messages} one {# new message} other {# new messages}}
```

For 0, 1 and 5 in English this prints `No new messages`, `1 new message` and `5 new messages`. The branch names are categories, not numbers: `one` covers 1 in English, 0 and 1 in French, and 1, 21, 31 and so on in Russian. The categories each language uses are listed on the [language plural rules](/language-plural-rules/) page, and `#` prints the number formatted for the locale.

A select message:

```icu-message-format
{gender, select, female {She replied} male {He replied} other {They replied}}
```

The argument is a string and the match is exact: `female` selects the first branch, while `Female` or any unknown value falls to `other`. `select` has no `#`, no `=value` cases and no locale rules. It is a plain keyword lookup, which makes it right for closed sets such as gender, pronoun, account type or platform, and wrong for quantities, where it would ignore the plural rules of the language.

A selectordinal message:

```icu-message-format
You finished {place, selectordinal, one {#st} two {#nd} few {#rd} other {#th}}!
```

English ordinal rules put 1, 21 and 101 in `one`, 2 and 22 in `two`, 3 and 23 in `few`, and 11, 12 and 13 in `other`, so 3 prints `You finished 3rd!` and 13 prints `You finished 13th!`. Ordinal categories are a separate rule set from the cardinal ones of the same language; English cardinals use only `one` and `other`.

In short: use `plural` when the wording depends on a quantity, `select` when it depends on a non-numeric value, `selectordinal` for ranks and ordinal dates, and nest them when a sentence depends on both, as shown in [How do I combine gender and count in one ICU message?](/i18n-questions/icu-message-format/how-do-i-combine-gender-and-count-in-one-icu-message/). The [ICU message editor](/icu-message-editor/) shows which branch a value selects.

Source: https://localizely.com/i18n-questions/icu-message-format/what-is-the-difference-between-plural-and-select-in-icu-message-format/