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分类 (fēn lèi) — to classify, to categorize

Definition

分类 means 'to sort/categorize things into groups' by some rule. Unlike 属于 (states a class) or 分级 (ranks by level), it emphasizes the act of dividing items into categories.

verb
to classifyto categorize

Examples

  • 分类。
    Qǐng bǎ zhè xiē wén jiàn fēn lèi yí xià.
    Please classify these files.
  • 分类。
    Xué dān cí de shí hou yào fēn lèi jì yì.
    You should classify your memory when learning vocabulary.
  • 分类。
    Lā jī xū yào fēn lèi cái néng chǔ lǐ.
    Garbage needs to be sorted before it can be processed.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

分fēndivide
类lèicategory

分 means divide and 类 means category, so the word means to divide things into categories.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

分 pairs 八 (to separate) with 刀 (knife), showing something cut apart with a knife.

Open 分 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 類; 类 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
犬犬quǎn
Sound part声符shēngfú
頪
頪lèi類lèi
Same sound today

The traditional form 類 pairs 犬, which relates to the meaning, with 頪, which gives the sound. The simplified 类 is a shorthand, and its parts are not the historical components.

Open 类 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 5Order & Arrangement

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