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HSK 3

分

minute; point; cent; to divide

measure wordneutral
分
fēn1st tone

HSK level

1
2
3
4
5
6
Pinyin
fēn
Part of speech
measure word
Level
HSK 3
Strokes
4
Register
neutral

Stroke order for 分

分 is written with 4 strokes. The animation replays automatically.

What does 分 mean?

分 (fēn) is a high-frequency unit word with three core senses.

(1) Minutes — 三点十分 ('3:10'), 五分钟 ('five minutes'). (2) Points / score — 考了九十分 ('scored 90 points'). (3) Currency — the smallest unit of Chinese money, 100 分 = 1 块 (yuán); in daily life 分 is rarely paid in cash anymore but still appears in prices.

It also serves as a unit of weight and length in old measures, and as a fraction (三分之一 sān fēn zhī yī, 'one-third'). Beyond units, 分 is the verb 'to divide, split, separate' — 分东西 ('divide things'), 分手 ('break up'), 分开 ('split apart'). The shared idea is partition: dividing time, money, scores, or relationships into pieces.

Note: 分 is also a verb meaning 'to divide / split' (分东西 'divide things up,' 分手 'break up'). The HSK 3 focus is the measure word / unit usage.

Example sentences

现在是七点二十分。

Xiànzài shì qī diǎn èrshí fēn.

It's 7:20 right now.

neutral

请等我五分钟。

Qǐng děng wǒ wǔ fēnzhōng.

Please wait five minutes for me.

polite

他这次考试考了九十五分。

Tā zhè cì kǎoshì kǎo le jiǔshíwǔ fēn.

He scored 95 on this exam.

neutral

我们把蛋糕分成八块。

Wǒmen bǎ dàngāo fēn chéng bā kuài.

Let's divide the cake into eight pieces.

spoken

他们去年分手了。

Tāmen qùnián fēnshǒu le.

They broke up last year.

spoken

Common phrases with 分

五分钟wǔ fēnzhōngfive minutes
三点十五分sān diǎn shíwǔ fēn3:15
考一百分kǎo yìbǎi fēnscore 100 points
分东西fēn dōngxidivide / share things out
分手fēnshǒubreak up (couple)

Synonyms

分钟fēnzhōng

分钟 is specifically 'minutes' as a duration (五分钟 'five minutes long'). 分 alone is used in clock times (五分 '5 past') and as the unit. For durations, native speakers prefer 分钟.

点diǎn

点 marks the hour (三点 '3 o'clock'); 分 marks the minutes within an hour (三点十分 '3:10'). They pair up but aren't interchangeable.

Don't confuse 分 with

份fèn

份 is a measure word for portions / copies (一份报纸 'one copy of a newspaper'). 分 is the unit of minutes / points / cents. Same pinyin syllable, different tone and character.

粉fěn

粉 means 'powder; pink' (面粉 'flour,' 粉色 'pink'). Same pinyin family, different meaning and tone.

块kuài

块 is the everyday word for the yuan (一块钱 'one yuan'). 分 is the cent (1 块 = 10 角 = 100 分). In modern life you'll see 块 and 毛 (=角) far more than 分.

FAQ

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