分摊 (fēn tān) — to apportion, to share (costs, expenses, burdens)

Definition

verb
to apportionto share (costs, expenses, burdens)

Examples

  • 分摊。
    Zhè cì huó dòng de fèi yòng yóu dà jiā fēn tān.
    The expenses of this event are shared by everyone.
  • 分摊。
    Gōng sī àn bǐ lì fēn tān lì rùn.
    The company apportions profits proportionally.
  • 分摊。
    Tā men jué dìng píng jūn fēn tān lǚ xíng fèi yòng.
    They decided to split the travel costs equally.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

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

分fēndivide
摊tānapportion

分 gives divide, and 摊 gives apportion; together they mean sharing a cost or burden.

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 攤; 摊 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
手手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
難
難nán攤tān
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 攤 uses 手 (hand) and 難 for sound.

Open 摊 →

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