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十分 (shí fēn) — very, extremely

Definition

十分 means 'very, extremely' and is a bit more emphatic/formal than the everyday 很 or 非常 — common in writing and with adjectives like 满意 or 高兴.

adverb
veryextremely

Examples

  • 十分。
    Zhè ge wèn tí shí fēn róng yì.
    This question is very easy.
  • 十分。
    Wǒ duì tā de gōng zuò shí fēn mǎn yì.
    I am very satisfied with his work.
  • 十分。
    Tā jīn tiān shí fēn gāo xìng.
    He is very happy today.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

十shíten
分fēnpoint

十 means 'ten' and 分 means 'point', so ten points give the idea of very much.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

The early shape 十 was mostly a single vertical stroke, sometimes with a dot, and later gained a horizontal stroke to form a cross. For the number ten, it marked the next digit above one.

Open 十 →

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 →

Grammar

Appears in
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