百分 (bǎi fēn) — percent (used in the 百分之... structure) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

百分 is the literary/formal equivalent of 'percent', almost always paired with 百分之 + a number (百分之九十 = 90%). In everyday speech, 百分比 or just ％ is more common.

idiom

percent (used in the 百分之... structure)

Examples

。
Kǎo shì dé le bǎi fēn zhī jiǔ shí.
I got ninety percent on the exam.
。
bǎi fēn Zhī sān shí de rén xǐ huan yùn dòng.
Thirty percent of people like sports.
。
Zhè ge chǎn pǐn jià gé xià jiàng le bǎi fēn zhī shí.
The price of this product dropped by ten percent.

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.

百bǎihundred

百 supplies 'hundred' and 分 supplies 'part', forming the hundred-part scale of percent.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

一白百

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

白

白bái百bǎi

Same sound today

百 combines 一, which carries the number meaning, with 白, which provides the sound.

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

八刀分

八八bāto separate
刀刀dāoknife

分 pairs 八 (to separate) with 刀 (knife), showing something cut apart with a knife.

Appears in

Numbers & Counting

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