HSK 3.0 Level 3 · Everyday Verbs

分开 fēnkāi “to separate” in Chinese

Traditional 分開

What 分开 means

  1. to separate
  2. to part
  3. to split up

How to say 分开

  • 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 first tone: stays high and level, 5 to 5 on the five-level scale开kāi1st tone, high and level

分开 in a sentence

  1. 这两个问题必须分开讨论。

    Zhè liǎng ge wèntí bìxū fēnkāi tǎolùn.

    These two questions must be discussed separately.

    Sentence #734396 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  2. 请让我们分开付钱。

    Qǐng ràng wǒmen fēnkāi fùqián.

    Could we pay separately, please?

    Sentence #9584505 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters · translation adapted

  3. 请你分开包装好吗？

    Qǐng nǐ fēnkāi bāozhuāng hǎo ma?

    Could you wrap these separately, please?

    Sentence #838641 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters · translation adapted

How 分开 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 开 (kāi) with each of its parts in a different colour
开kāito open
  • 一one · yī
  • 廾two hands · gǒng

Memory aidSimplified from 開: two hands lifting the bar of a gate 門: to open.

How to write 分开

分 4 strokes · 开 4 strokes

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

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

Words related to 分开

Words with 分

分钟fēnzhōng · minute分fēn · divide得分défēn · to score (points)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分布fēnbù · to be distributed (over an area)

Words with 开

开kāi · to open开车kāichē · to drive a car开始kāishǐ · to begin开学kāixué · to start a new school term打开dǎkāi · to open离开líkāi · leave开会kāihuì · to have a meeting开花kāihuā · to bloom开机kāijī · to switch on (a device)开心kāixīn · to feel happy

More words: Everyday Verbs

爬pá · to climb练liàn · to practise不见bújiàn · to be missing刷shuā · to brush遇见yùjiàn · to meet (by chance)刮guā · to blow (of wind)扫sǎo · to sweep搬家bānjiā · to move house

FAQs

分开 (fēnkāi) means “to separate” or “to part”. It is an HSK 3.0 Level 3 word.
Say it fēnkāi: fēn with a 1st tone, then kāi with a 1st 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, 分开 is written 分開. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type fenkai with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 分开 from the suggestions. Typing fenkai into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
分开 is an HSK 3.0 Level 3 word in the official 2021 syllabus, and it is on our HSK 3.0 Band 5 word list. It is not on the older 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.