HSK 6 · Verbs

分辨 fēnbiàn “to distinguish” in Chinese

Same in Traditional

What 分辨 means

  1. to distinguish
  2. to tell apart
  3. to differentiate
  4. to resolve

How to say 分辨

  • Pitch chart of the first tone: stays high and level, 5 to 5 on the five-level scale分fēn1st tone, high and level
  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale辨biàn4th tone, falling

分辨 in a sentence

  1. 我无法分辨你是否在开玩笑。

    Wǒ wúfǎ fēnbiàn nǐ shìfǒu zài kāiwánxiào.

    I can’t tell if you’re joking.

    Sentence #5527055 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters · translation adapted

  2. 是非对错，有时很难分辨。

    Shìfēi duì cuò, yǒushí hěn nán fēnbiàn.

    Sometimes it’s hard to tell right from wrong.

    Sentence #602902 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  3. 他不会分辨左右。

    Tā bú huì fēnbiàn zuǒyòu.

    He can’t tell left from right.

    Sentence #816895 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters · translation adapted

How 分辨 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 分 (fēn) with each of its parts in a different colour
分fēnto divide; to separate
  • 八eight · bā
  • 刀knife · dāo

Memory aidA knife 刀 cutting something into two 八: to divide.

The character 辨 (biàn) with each of its parts in a different colour
辨biànto distinguish
  • 辛bitter · xīn
  • 刂knife form of 刀 · dāo
  • 辛bitter · xīn

How to write 分辨

分 4 strokes · 辨 16 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

分辨 (fēnbiàn) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 分辨 (fēnbiàn). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 分辨

Words with 分

分钟fēnzhōng · minute分fēn · divide得分défēn · to score (points)分开fēnkāi · to separate部分bùfen · part十分shífēn · very百分之bǎifēnzhī · per cent分手fēnshǒu · to break up分别fēnbié · to part分析fēnxī · to analyse

Words with 辨

辨认biànrèn · to identify

More words: Thinking & Talking

反驳fǎnbó · to refute反思fǎnsī · to reflect on反问fǎnwèn · to ask a rhetorical question发誓fāshì · to swear吩咐fēnfù · to instruct附和fùhè · to echo (someone’s views)告辞gàocí · to take leave告诫gàojiè · to warn

FAQs

分辨 (fēnbiàn) means “to distinguish” or “to tell apart”. It is an HSK 6 word.
Say it fēnbiàn: fēn with a 1st tone, then biàn with a 4th tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 分辨 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type fenbian with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 分辨 from the suggestions. Typing fenbian into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
分辨 is an HSK 6 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.