Meaning:

To separate ; scatter ; depart ; distinguish

Origin:

甲骨文中，“分”的外面是个“八”字，当中是一把“刀”，意思是用刀把一个东西切开，所以“分”的本义是“分开”，后来“分”也有“散” “离” “区别”的意思。

On oracle bone inscriptions, the character “分” has two parts: a “八” on the outside and a “刀” (knife) on the inside, meaning to cut something with a knife, so “分” came to mean “to separate.” That later expanded to concepts like scattering, departing, and distinguishing.

Words:

   分门别类 (fēn mén bié lèi): to classify

   区分  (qūfēn) : to distinguish

   分别 (fēnbié) : to distribute

   分发 (fēnfā ) : to leave; depart

   分开 (fēnkāi ): to separate

Examples:

1. 色盲的人很难区分红色和绿色。

    Sèmáng de rén hěn nán qūfēn hóngsè hé lǜsè.

    It is difficult for color-blind people to distinguish red from green.

2. 咱们分别不到一年又见面了。

    Zánmen fēnbié bú dào yì nián yòu jiànmiàn le

    We’ve been apart less than a year and now we meet again.

3. 这个班级太大，我们必须把它分成小班作口语练习。

    Zhè ge bānjí tài dà， wǒmen bìxū bǎ tā fēnchéng xiǎo bān zuò kǒuyǔ liànxí

    This class is too large. We have to divide it for oral language practice.