TongTong
Sign in

份量 (fèn liàng) — (noun) weight, amount, portion; (noun, figurative) significance, importance, weight (of influence or authority)

Definition

Refers to the physical 'weight/portion' of something (like food or a load), or figuratively to the 'influence/authority' someone carries. Pairs with 足, 够 for amount, and with 说话 for figurative sway.

noun
weightamountportion(noun, figurative) significanceimportanceweight (of influence or authority)

Examples

  • 份量，。
    Zhè zhǒng dàn gāo de fèn liàng hěn zú, chī yí kuài jiù bǎo le.
    This type of cake has a lot of weight to it; one piece is enough to fill you up.
  • 份量，。
    Zhè bāo dà mǐ de fèn liàng bú gòu, zhǐ yǒu shí gōng jīn.
    This bag of rice doesn't weigh enough; it's only ten kilograms.
  • 份量，。
    Tā zài gōng sī shuō huà hěn yǒu fèn liàng, dà jiā dōu tīng tā de.
    His words carry a lot of weight in the company; everyone listens to him.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

份fènportion
量liángamount

份 and 量 both point to amount or weight, giving portion or importance.

Characters in this word

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
亻Written in full as人rén
Sound part声符shēngfú
分
分fēn份fèn(r)
Same sound today

份 is built from 亻, the person form written in full as 人, and 分, which gives the sound.

Open 份 →

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

  • 日日rìsun
  • 東東dōngbag; east

量 has 日 (sun) over 東 (bag; east). Some explanations suggest measuring under the sun or the sun rising in the east, but the exact origin is unclear.

Open 量 →
Appears in
Quantity & Amount

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.