fen (分) — to divide, minute, point, cent in Chinese

simplified

traditional

fēn

to divide · to separate · minute · point (score) · cent · fraction

HSK 1 笔画 4 部首刀 (knife) 声调第一声 (high level) all fen readings →

~6 min read

笔顺 bǐshùn · Stroke order

部首 radical (刀) 部件 component (rest of character) 书写 your drawing

Click the character to replay. Press Try drawing to write it yourself.

字源 zìyuán Etymology & Structure

字源洞见 zìyuán dòngjiàn · Etymological Insight

分 fēn = 八 (bā, to split apart) + 刀 (dāo, knife). It is an associative compound (会意字): 八 in its original sense is not the number eight but a picture of two strokes turning away from each other, the image of separation; 刀 is a knife. Put a dividing image over a blade and you have the act of cutting one thing into parts. The core meaning is to divide.

From the cut, everything that comes in parts follows:

1. To divide, to separate. The literal act: 分开 fēnkāi (to separate), 分手 fēnshǒu (to part, to break up), 分配 fēnpèi (to allot).
2. A small divided unit. The fraction left after dividing: 分钟 fēnzhōng (a minute, the hour divided), 分 (a point on a test), 分 (a cent, the yuan divided).
3. A part, a share. What a division yields: 部分 bùfen (a part), 成分 chéngfèn (a component), 充分 chōngfèn (ample, fully sufficient).
4. The second reading fèn. When the dividing is settled into a fixed lot, 分 is read fèn and written 份: 身份 shēnfèn (status), 缘分 yuánfèn (the lot that brings people together), 本分 běnfèn (one's proper duty).

The thread is the cut. Whatever has been split, measured out, or apportioned, a minute, a point, a cent, a share, a duty, traces back to the knife dividing a whole into parts.

构词 gòucí Word-Formation Patterns

构词规律 gòucí guīlǜ · The Cut and Its Parts 分 as the act of dividing → 分开 separate · 分手 break up · 分配 allot · 分类 classify
分 as a small unit → 分钟 minute · 几分 how many points · 分数 score; fraction
分 as a part / share → 部分 part · 成分 component · 充分 ample · 大部分 the greater part
分 read fèn (份) → 身份 status · 缘分 fated affinity · 本分 proper duty · 过分 excessive

分开 fēnkāi To Divide & Separate

分开 fēnkāi to separate; to part; to divide up

V 动词 dòngcí

分 fēn (divide) + 开 kāi (open; apart). To pull two things apart or keep them distinct: 把垃圾分开 "sort the rubbish," 我们分开走 "let's go separately."

请把这些文件分开放。

Qǐng bǎ zhèxiē wénjiàn fēnkāi fàng.

Please keep these documents separate.

分手 fēnshǒu to part ways; to break up (a couple)

V 动词 dòngcí

分 fēn (separate) + 手 shǒu (hand). To let go of one another's hand. In everyday use it most often means a romantic break-up, but it can simply mean two people parting at a crossroads.

他们去年分手了。

Tāmen qùnián fēnshǒu le.

They broke up last year.

分类 fēnlèi to classify; to sort into categories

V 动词 dòngcí

分 fēn (divide) + 类 lèi (kind; category). To divide things into kinds: 垃圾分类 "waste sorting," 图书分类 "cataloguing books."

我们需要给这些数据分类。

Wǒmen xūyào gěi zhèxiē shùjù fēnlèi.

We need to classify this data.

分钟 fēnzhōng The Small Unit — Minute, Point, Cent

语义洞见 yǔyì dòngjiàn · Semantic Insight

Because 分 is the small unit left after dividing, the same character measures three different wholes. Divide the hour and 分 is the minute: 五分钟 wǔ fēnzhōng (five minutes), 现在三点十分 "it's ten past three." Divide a perfect score and 分 is the point: 考了九十分 "scored ninety," 满分 mǎnfēn (full marks). Divide the yuan and 分 is the cent, a hundredth of the currency.

The logic is one and the same in every case: 分 is what you get when a whole is cut into equal small pieces. This is also why 分数 fēnshù means both a test "score" and a mathematical "fraction," the two senses of a number that lives below the whole. When you hear 分, ask what whole is being divided, and the unit names itself.

分钟 fēnzhōng minute (of time)

N 名词 míngcí

分 fēn (a divided unit) + 钟 zhōng (clock). A minute as a span of time: 等五分钟 "wait five minutes." To tell the time on the clock face, 分 alone is enough: 两点十五分 "two fifteen."

请等我十分钟。

Qǐng děng wǒ shí fēnzhōng.

Please wait ten minutes for me.

分数 fēnshù score; mark; (math) fraction

N 名词 míngcí

分 fēn (point) + 数 shù (number). A test score, and in mathematics a fraction. Both senses share the idea of a number standing below or against a whole.

这次考试他的分数很高。

Zhè cì kǎoshì tā de fēnshù hěn gāo.

His score on this exam was high.

部分 bùfen Part & Portion

部分 bùfen part; portion; section

N 名词 míngcí

部 bù (section) + 分 fen (a divided share). A part of a larger whole: 大部分 "the greater part, most," 一部分 "a portion." The opposite framing is 整体 zhěngtǐ, the whole.

大部分学生都同意。

Dàbùfen xuésheng dōu tóngyì.

Most of the students agree.

充分 chōngfèn ample; full; sufficient

ADJ 形容词 xíngróngcí

充 chōng (to fill) + 分 fèn (measure; share). Filled to the proper measure, fully sufficient: 充分的准备 "ample preparation," 充分利用 "to make full use of." Note the fèn reading.

我们有充分的时间。

Wǒmen yǒu chōngfèn de shíjiān.

We have ample time.

身份 shēnfèn identity; status; capacity (in which one acts)

N 名词 míngcí

身 shēn (body; self) + 份 fèn (one's allotted part). One's place and standing, the social lot one occupies: 身份证 shēnfènzhèng (ID card), 以专家的身份 "in the capacity of an expert." Here the fèn sense of 分 is written with the 份 form.

请出示你的身份证。

Qǐng chūshì nǐ de shēnfènzhèng.

Please show your ID card.

成语 chéngyǔ Idioms & Set Phrases

分秒必争 fēn miǎo bì zhēng to fight for every minute and second: to lose not a moment Lit: minute-second-must-contend. Said when time is so pressing that each unit counts, in a race, an emergency, a deadline. 争分夺秒 is the common variant.

恰如其分 qià rú qí fèn exactly to its measure: just right, neither too much nor too little Lit: precisely-matching-its-portion. Praise for words or actions pitched at exactly the right degree. Here 分 takes the fèn reading, the proper allotted measure.

是非分明 shì fēi fēn míng right and wrong clearly divided: drawing a sharp line between them Lit: right-wrong-divide-clear. Said in praise of someone with firm moral judgment who does not blur what is right with what is wrong.

难分难解 nán fēn nán jiě hard to divide and hard to untangle: locked together, evenly matched Lit: hard-to-separate-hard-to-loosen. Of a contest too close to call, or of people so entwined, whether fighting or in love, that they cannot be pulled apart.

记忆法 jìyìfǎ · Master Retention Image

See the knife 刀 at the bottom and the splitting strokes 八 above it: a blade coming down to cut a whole in two. That single image is the whole character. 分 is the cut, and everything it means is a piece left by the cut.

Divide the hour and the piece is a minute. Divide a perfect score and the piece is a point. Divide the yuan and the piece is a cent. Divide a whole into shares and the piece is a part (部分), a duty, a station in life (身份). When the cut is no longer an action but a settled lot, the sound shifts to fèn. Either way, hold the knife in mind and every sense of 分 falls into place.