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大部分 (dà bù fen) — the greater part; the majority; most

Definition

A quantifier meaning 'the greater part / most'. Works directly before a noun (大部分学生) or on its own as the subject ('most of them'). Mostly/大多数 focus on count; 几乎 means 'almost'.

numeral
the greater partthe majoritymost

Examples

  • 大部分。
    dà bù fen Xué shēng dōu tōng guò le kǎo shì.
    Most students passed the exam.
  • 大部分。
    Tā dà bù fen shí jiān dōu zài kàn shū.
    He spends most of his time reading.
  • 大部分。
    Zhè xiē yì jiàn dà bù fen shì hé lǐ de.
    Most of these opinions are reasonable.

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.

大dàbig
部分part
部bùsection分fēndivision
联合Coordinate

“大” big plus “部分” part gives the larger part.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The form 大 is a picture of a person standing and facing forward, not of someone stretching their arms.

Open 大 →

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
邑邑yì
Sound part声符shēngfú
咅
咅pǒu部bù
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

部 pairs 咅, which gives the sound, with 邑. It originally named a place in today's Gansu.

Open 部 →

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 →
Appears in
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