分
fèn
#79 most
frequent character
part, share, ingredient, component
Character breakdown
Source: Make Me a Hanzi.
分 has 刀 knife as a picture part and 八 as a picture part showing something split in two. 八 also supplies the sound, though that link is not clear today. The first meaning was 'to split something with a knife'. It grew to 'divide', 'fraction', 'minute', 'part', and for fèn, 'portion' and 'social place'.
Drawn as: knife; split object
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Same Characters, Different Readings
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