分 fēn, fèn — to divide, to separate; a minute; a fraction, a mark out of a hundred; a cent; (fèn) a share, a part, a component
拼音
- fēn (first tone, high and level)most common
- fèn (fourth tone, falling)
to divide, to separate; a minute; a fraction, a mark out of a hundred; a cent; (fèn) a share, a part, a component
字形拆解
Ideographic description
⿱八刀The sequence reads left to right and describes how the parts are arranged.
- 八meaning partno entry yetTwo strokes turning away from each other — the old graph for splitting apart.
- 刀meaning partThe knife that does the dividing; the character is filed under it.
Mnemonic
A knife 刀 with 八 above it, the two strokes that turn away from each other: something being split. Every sense is a piece cut from a whole — 十分钟, ten minutes off the hour; 一分钱, a cent off the yuan; 一百分, full marks out of a hundred. Said in the fourth tone, fèn, it is the piece itself: 部分, a part.
A memory aid written by HSK Guide editors. It is not an etymology and does not describe the historical origin of the character.