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本分 (běn fèn) — (noun) one's duty, one's proper role in life; (adjective) dutiful, conscientious; staying within one's proper bounds

Definition

本分 emphasizes staying within one's proper role and not overreaching, rather than effort (努力) or general conscientiousness (认真). Often used as a virtue describing someone who knows their place and does their duty without seeking more.

noun
one's dutyone's proper role in life
adjective
dutifulconscientiousstaying within one's proper bounds

Examples

  • 本分。
    Zuò hǎo zì jǐ de běn fèn bǐ shén me dōu zhòng yào.
    Doing your own duty is more important than anything.
  • 本分，。
    Tā shì gè běn fèn rén, cóng lái bú zhàn bié rén pián yi.
    He is a dutiful person who never takes advantage of others.
  • 本分，。
    Zuò rén yào běn fèn, bú yào zǒng xiǎng zǒu jié jìng.
    One should stay within one's bounds and not always try to take shortcuts.

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.

本běnone's own/root
分fēnduty/portion

"本" means one's own/root and "分" means duty/portion; together they describe one's proper role.

Characters in this word

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

本 adds a stroke at the bottom of a tree shape to mark the roots, giving the sense of foundation or original.

Open 本 →

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
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Social Roles & Status

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