分
Mnemonic
A bird spreads its wings wide, but a sword slashes down the center, cleaving them into two equal halves. Each part flutters off in opposite directions—left wing spiraling one way, right wing the other. One whole divided by one blade: two parts, perfectly split.
Additional thoughts
Visualize the wings (八) spreading apart at the top of the kanji while the sword (刀) sits beneath doing the cutting. The shape of 八 itself looks like two things being forced apart—a visual cue for division.Quick recall
A sword cleaves spread wings into two equal parts.Details
The keyword for 分 is part. This kanji conveys the idea of dividing, separating, or splitting something into portions. It encompasses meanings related to understanding (as in breaking down information to comprehend it), minutes of time (as a subdivision of an hour), and one's share or portion of something. At its core, 分 represents the fundamental concept of taking a whole and distinguishing or distributing it into smaller parts.
- On'yomi
- ぶん、ふん、ぶ
- Kun'yomi
- わ.ける、わ.け、わ.かれる、わ.かる、わ.かつ