Sections and departments with 部
The kanji 部 centers on a part or section of a larger whole. It further extends to departments, clubs, branches, and other organized groups that form one section within a bigger structure.
Etymology
This kanji is a phono-semantic compound comprised of 邑 / 阝 (place, settlement) as the semantic component and 咅 as the phonetic component, giving the on-reading ブ.
Organization Structure
本部 (Headquarters)
本部 means headquarters or the main office. It is the central division from which the rest of the branches or sections are directed.
It combines 本 (main) with 部 (department) to show the main department.
Akari encounters Woody while he’s out on a delivery run. He stopped to show off for some kids, but in the process, he seems to have lost his city map, and he has a terrible sense of direction. Akari asks if he has the delivery addresses, which he says he does.
- ウッディー:
- 「でも 本部まで地図を取りに戻る時間がないのだぁ！」
- “But I don't have time to go back to headquarters to get a map!!”
Organizational Roles
部下 (Subordinate)
部下 means a subordinate, junior, or person under someone’s authority within an organization. It is commonly used for someone below you in rank or position at work.
It combines 部 (organizational unit) with 下 (below) to show someone below you within the organization.
Cocoa thinks Rize is nervous about staying overnight with her and Chino.
- リゼ:
- 「いや… 親父の部下に誘われたワイルドなキャンプしか経験した事ないから…」
- “Well... I've only had the experience of those wild camping trips my dad's subordinates invited me on...”
- ココア:
- 「ワイルド？」
- “Wild?”
Parts of a Whole
全部 (Whole)
全部 means all, the whole, or everything. It refers to all the parts taken together without anything left out.
It combines 全 (whole) with 部 (parts) to show all the parts together.
Heiji invites Conan, Ran, and Mouri on a tour of Osaka. While Heiji steps away, his childhood friend who’s been following the group confronts them. She opens by saying “You’re Kudo, right?” and that she heard it from Heiji. Conan, realizing his true identity is about to be revealed to Ran, tries to stop her.
- コナン:
- 「あ、あ、ちょっ…」
- “Ah, ah, wai--!”
- 和葉:
- 「とぼけたかてアカン！ アタシにはもう全部わかってんねんから…」
- “It's no use playing dumb. Since I already know everything...”
一部 (One part)
一部 means one part, one portion, or one section of something larger. It is commonly used when only part of the whole is involved.
It combines 一 (one) with 部 (part) to show one part of a whole.
Masaki’s dream job making coffee turns out to be nothing like he expected, as he’s put to work sorting out good beans from bad. When he finally has the chance to roast beans, he’s eager to use the fancy roasting machine, but he’s instead given a handheld coffee roaster to hold over a portable stove’s flame.
- エゾリスＡ:
- 「ほらほら ちゃんと揺すらないと〜」
- “Come on, come on. You have to shake it properly.”
- エゾリスＢ:
- 「一部だけ焦げちゃうわよ〜」
- “Parts of it might get burnt.”
- マサキ:
- 「うるさいなあ」
- “Hush up!”
School Clubs
部活 (Club activities)
部活 means school club activities or participation in a school club. It is a very common everyday word for extracurricular club life in Japanese schools.
It combines 部 (club) with 活 (activity) to show the activities of a club.
Aru returns to her classroom after club. Expecting the classroom to be empty, she’s singing a song about herself as she enters the room. There, she finds her friends idling away the time.
- アル:
- 「なな 何で皆いんのよ！（誰もいないと思ってた！）」
- “Wh- why is it that you all are here?! (I was thinking no one was here!)”
- なこ:
- 「（なんだ今の歌…）」
- “(What was with that song just now...)”
- ソトカ:
- 「師匠がアルを待つって」
- “Master said she'd wait for you.”
- アル:
- 「でも私部活あるわよ」
- “But I'm in a club!”
Note: Sotoka refers to Bocchi as 師匠.
入部 (Joining a club)
入部 means joining a club or becoming part of an organized section. It is especially common in school contexts when someone enters a sports or cultural club.
It combines 入 (enter) with 部 (club) to show entering a club.
Sakurako forces Takeru to join the shogi club. When he suggests she join as well, she refuses and tells him not to go either, or else he’ll be in the way there.
- タケル:
- 「乗り気じゃなかったが入部した以上はしっかり活動する！」
- “I wasn't enthusiastic, but now that I'm in the club, I'll work hard!”
- 「それが男ってもんだ！！」
- “That's what it means to be a man!!”
- “I wasn't enthusiastic, but now that I'm in the club, I'll work hard!”
Spaces and Sections
部屋 (Room)
部屋 means a room, chamber, or enclosed space inside a building. It is the ordinary everyday word for a room in a house, apartment, hotel, or school.
It can be understood as one sectioned-off part of a larger building.
It combines 部 (section) with 屋 (room) to show a sectioned-off room within a larger building.
Hiro lets Mao move into his sister’s bedroom, as Hina is living with relatives. After, he comes up with a list of rules that Mao needs to follow if she’s to keep living there.
- 基:
- 「…さて 片付け…」
- “Now then, cleaning...”
- 「できるのかな おまえ…」
- “I wonder if you can do it.”
- 「俺 陽菜の部屋相当キレイにしてたんだぞ」
- “I kept Hina's room pretty clean, you know.”
- “Now then, cleaning...”