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部分 (bù fen) — part; portion; section

Definition

部分 means 'part' of a whole — a general, countable portion. Compared with 局部 (a localized part, often medical/technical) and 份额 (a share of a total), 部分 is the everyday, neutral term.

noun
partportionsection
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 部分。
    Zhè ge bù fen hěn zhòng yào.
    This part is very important.
  • 部分。
    Gōng sī de bù fen yuán gōng lái zì guó wài.
    Part of the company's employees come from abroad.
  • 部分。
    Wǒ bǎ dàn gāo fēn chéng le sān bù fen.
    I divided the cake into three parts.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

部bùsection
分fēndivision

部 and 分 both refer to a section or division; together they mean a part of a whole.

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.

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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