Dividing and portions with 分
The kanji 分 has the core meanings of divide and part.
It begins with the act of separating something into pieces. From there it grows into portions, categories, ingredients, analysis, and even “one’s share” or “one’s own part.”
Etymology
An ideogrammic compound, 分 combines 八 (“to separate”) + 刀 (“knife”), to mean separating something, as with a knife.
Breakdown
分解 (Decomposition)
分解 means taking something apart or breaking it down into its components.
It combines 分 (divide) with 解 (separate) to show separating something into pieces.
Hinata dedicates the month of December to giving her home a complete cleaning.
- ひなた:
- 「お父さんがちまちま貯めた新聞…」
- “The old newspapers Dad's been saving forever...”
- 「これをぬるま湯につけてガラスを拭くと油分を分解してピカピカになるんだ」
- “Soak them in warm water and wipe the glass, and they cut through the grease and get it sparkling clean.”
Components
成分 (Component)
成分 means the ingredients or components that make up a substance or product.
It combines 成 (form) with 分 (part) to show the parts that form something.
A client tells Detective Mouri about the condition in which she found her deceased husband. Hearing the details, Conan identifies the likely poison, including the composition, the dosage required to kill, and the internal effects it has on a person. When Ran asks how he knows all this, Conan covers by saying the monster villain on the kid’s TV show he watched explained it.
- 蘭:
- 「随分 丁寧な怪人ね… 毒の成分まで教えてくれるなんて…」
- “What a polite villain... Going so far as to tell the poison's composition...”
- コナン:
- 「そんな怪人いねーよ…」
- “No such monster exists...”
油分 (Oil content)
油分 means the oil or fat contained in something. It can also refer to oily residue on a surface.
It combines 油 (oil) with 分 (component) to show the oily component of something.
Hinata dedicates the month of December to giving her home a complete cleaning.
- ひなた:
- 「お父さんがちまちま貯めた新聞…」
- “The old newspapers Dad's been saving forever...”
- 「これをぬるま湯につけてガラスを拭くと油分を分解してピカピカになるんだ」
- “Soak them in warm water and wipe the glass, and they cut through the grease and get it sparkling clean.”
Degree and Extent
随分 (Awfully)
随分 describes a degree greater than expected, like “quite” or “very”.
This compound uses 随 (follow) to give the word its sense of awfully.
A client tells Detective Mouri about the condition in which she found her deceased husband. Hearing the details, Conan identifies the likely poison, including the composition, the dosage required to kill, and the internal effects it has on a person. When Ran asks how he knows all this, Conan covers by saying the monster villain on the kid’s TV show he watched explained it.
- 蘭:
- 「随分 丁寧な怪人ね… 毒の成分まで教えてくれるなんて…」
- “What a polite villain... Going so far as to tell the poison's composition...”
- コナン:
- 「そんな怪人いねーよ…」
- “No such monster exists...”
Measures
五分 (Five minutes or fifty percent)
五分 means five minutes. With the reading 五分, it means five tenths, or half.
It combines 五 (five) with 分 (part) to indicate a division into five parts.
At breakfast, Touya teases Sakura for stomping down the stairs like a giant monster. He finishes eating and heads out on his bike to meet his friend Yukito on their way to school. Sakura hurries to eat her breakfast and get her roller blades on, so she can see Yukito, too. When they reach Yukito, he commends Sakura for being up early.
- 桃矢:
- 「怪獣は五分で朝飯食えるからな」
- “Well, monsters can finish breakfast in five minutes.”
分 (Share)
分 is a share or portion, as in 俺の分, “my share”. It also means one’s place or status.
Example 1 of 3: Amount eaten with 〜分
Sacchan and her friends are tasked with going around and selling excess bananas from her mother’s fruit shop. They offer a banana to a shop owner, and when he eats it, Sacchan says he needs to pay for it. The owner realizes he fell for their trap, but offers to buy a bunch.
- 琴葉:
- 「私たちが食べてる分も買うといい」
- “You should also buy the amount we're eating.”
- おやじ:
- 「まったく。かなわねぇなぁ。わっはっは」
- “Good grief, I'm outclassed. Wahahah!”
Example 2 of 3: Cats sleep two-thirds of their lives with 〜そうだ
It’s the height of summer in Neo-Venezia. Akari wonders where President Aria is, and they find him sprawled out, sleeping in the one cool spot.
- アリシア:
- 「猫は一生の内 3分の2の時間は寝ているそうよ」
- “They say cats spend two-thirds of their lives asleep.”
Example 3 of 3: Wave for me with 〜てくれる
Yotsuba and her father are driving to their new home. As they pass a school letting out, Yotsuba waves to a student. When the student waves back, Yotsuba tells her father to wave too.
- よつば:
- 「おねーちゃんが手ぇふった！ とーちゃんもふれ！」
- “The girl waved! Daddy, you wave too!”
- 父さん:
- 「とーちゃん手がはなせないからな俺の分もよつばがふってくれ」
- “Dad's hands are full, so Yotsuba, please wave for me too.”
Personal Identity
自分 (Oneself)
自分 is oneself. It refers back to the person doing the action, and some speakers use it to mean “I”.
It combines 自 (self) with 分 (part) to show one's own part.
Example 1 of 3: Being strict with oneself and one's student with 心を鬼にする
Conan’s classmates aren’t fond of their new teacher’s strict attitude. Ms. Kobayashi explains how at her last school, she couldn’t bring herself to be strict, and it allowed her students to get so out of control that students were injured in a fight.
- 小林:
- 「だから、この学校では二度とあんな事は繰り返すまいと…」
- “Therefore, to keep from repeating that kind of situation at this school...”
- 「心を鬼にして自分にも生徒にも厳しくしてきたの…」
- “I hardened my heart and became strict, with myself and with my students...”
Example 2 of 3: Taking too much caffeine with 〜すぎる
Thinking Syaro doesn’t like the taste of coffee, Cocoa suggests adding sugar and milk. Syaro says the bitterness isn’t the issue.
- シャロ:
- 「カフェインを摂りすぎると異常なテンションになるみたいなの」
- “It seems if I consume too much caffeine, I get abnormally hyper.”
- 「自分じゃよく分からないんだけど」
- “I can't really tell myself, though.”
- ◯:
- 「コーヒー酔い!?」
- “Drunk on coffee!?”
Example 3 of 3: Feeling a bit better with 気が晴れる
Futaba had been feeling the weight of uncertainty of her standing with Kou. A general discussion about boys and relationships with her friend Kikuchi clears up her feelings.
- 双葉:
- 「なんか自分はダメじゃないって言ってもらえた気がして」
- “It kind of felt like you were telling me I'm not hopeless.”
- 「少し気が晴れたかも」
- “I may be feeling a bit better.”
- 「ありがとね」
- “Thanks.”
Understanding
分かる (To understand)
分かる is to understand something, or for something to become known or clear.
Thinking Syaro doesn’t like the taste of coffee, Cocoa suggests adding sugar and milk. Syaro says the bitterness isn’t the issue.
- シャロ:
- 「カフェインを摂りすぎると異常なテンションになるみたいなの」
- “It seems if I consume too much caffeine, I get abnormally hyper.”
- 「自分じゃよく分からないんだけど」
- “I can't really tell myself, though.”
- ◯:
- 「コーヒー酔い!?」
- “Drunk on coffee!?”