分块 (fēn kuài) — to partition, to divide into blocks

Definition

A separable verb (离合词) used in technical/computing contexts: split something (data, a file) into blocks. It also takes the result complement 成 + number to state the resulting count.

verb
to partitionto divide into blocks

Examples

  • 分块。
    Qǐng bǎ shù jù fēn kuài chǔ lǐ.
    Please process the data in blocks.
  • 分块。
    Wǒ men xū yào fēn kuài zhè ge wén jiàn.
    We need to partition this file.
  • 分块。
    Tā bǎ dàn gāo fēn kuài chéng sì fèn.
    He divided the cake into four pieces.

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
块kuàiblock

To 分 something into 块, dividing it into blocks.

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 塊; 块 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
土土tǔearth; dust
Sound part声符shēngfú
鬼
鬼guǐ塊kuài
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 塊 pairs 土 (earth; dust) with 鬼 as a sound part to show a clod of dirt. The simplified 块 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical pieces.

Open 块 →

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