HSK 5 · Verbs

分别 fēnbié “to part” in Chinese

Traditional 分別

What 分别 means

  1. to part
  2. to distinguish
  3. separately, respectively
  4. to leave each other
  5. to tell apart
More meanings from CC-CEDICT
  • difference
  • distinction
  • in different ways
  • differently
  • individually

How to say 分别

  • 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 second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale别bié2nd tone, rising

分别 in a sentence

  1. 每堂课我都分别有一本笔记。

    Měi táng kè wǒ dōu fēnbié yǒu yì běn bǐjì.

    I have a separate notebook for each class.

    Sentence #3596585 from Tatoeba

  2. 火星上有两个小「月亮」，分别是福波斯和戴摩斯。

    Huǒxīng shàng yǒu liǎng ge xiǎo「yuèliang」, fēnbié shì Fúbōsī hé Dàimósī.

    Mars has two small “moons”: Phobos and Deimos, respectively.

    Sentence #13155827 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters · translation adapted

How 分别 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 别 (bié) with each of its parts in a different colour
别biéto leave; to part
  • 另another · lìng
  • 刂knife form of 刀 · dāo

Memory aidA knife 刂 cutting things apart: to separate. As a command, 别 means “don't”.

How to write 分别

分 4 strokes · 别 7 strokes

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

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

Words related to 分别

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分析fēnxī · to analyse分布fēnbù · to be distributed (over an area)

Words with 别

别bié · don’t别人biéren · other people特别tèbié · special别的biéde · other区别qūbié · difference性别xìngbié · gender告别gàobié · to say goodbye个别gèbié · individual别墅biéshù · villa鉴别jiànbié · to distinguish

More words: Thinking & Talking

打听dǎting · to ask about反映fǎnyìng · to reflect发言fāyán · to make a speech废话fèihuà · nonsense分析fēnxī · to analyse讽刺fěngcì · to satirise否定fǒudìng · to negate否认fǒurèn · to declare to be untrue

FAQs

分别 (fēnbié) means “to part” or “to distinguish”. It is an HSK 5 word.
Say it fēnbié: fēn with a 1st tone, then bié with a 2nd tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 分别 is written 分別. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type fenbie with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 分别 from the suggestions. Typing fenbie into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
分别 is an HSK 5 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.