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CHOOSE function in Google Sheets

Returns an element from a list of choices based on index.

=CHOOSE(index, choice1, [choice2, ...])

CHOOSE syntax and parameters

Three arguments, two required.

  • indexnumberRequired

    Which choice (of the up to 29 provided) to return. If index is zero, negative, or greater than the number of choices provided, the #NUM! error is returned.

  • choice1anyRequired

    A potential value to return. Required. May be a reference to a cell or an individual value.

  • choice2anyRepeating

    Additional values among which to choose.

CHOOSE examples

Formulas you'll actually reuse.

  1. A weekday label from a date, no lookup table needed:

    =CHOOSE(WEEKDAY(A2, 2), "Mon", "Tue", "Wed", "Thu", "Fri", "Sat", "Sun")

    Result"Thu"

  2. Total whichever scenario column a 1/2/3 selector cell points at:

    =SUM(CHOOSE(B2, D2:D13, E2:E13, F2:F13))

    Result148200

CHOOSE in Excel

Same name — your formula ports as-is.

Try CHOOSE in the playground

Edit the example — nothing to install.

Preloaded with the CHOOSE formula from Example 1 — change anything and watch it respond.

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CHOOSE errors

What they mean — and the fixes.

  • #VALUE!

    The index is outside 1…N — it must point at one of the listed values (fractions are truncated, so 0.9 counts as 0).

Related functions

More ways Google Sheets gets this done.