百分之五 (bǎi fēn zhī wǔ) — five percent

Definition

numeral

five percent

百分之五。
Wǒ men bān bǎi fēn zhī wǔ de tóng xué kǎo le mǎn fēn.
Five percent of our classmates got full marks.
百分之五，。
Nián lì lǜ zhǐ yǒu bǎi fēn zhī wǔ, zhēn de hěn dī.
The annual interest rate is only five percent, really low.
百分之五。
Zhè ge chǎn pǐn zhī zhàn le shì chǎng de bǎi fēn zhī wǔ.
This product only accounts for five percent of the market.

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

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

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

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

The shape pairs 止, a foot, with 一, a beginning place, and means to go.

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

An older form had a crossed mark between a top bar and a bottom bar. The modern 五 keeps those bars, while the original idea is uncertain.

Appears in