Chinese word

分之

Pronunciation

Pinyinfēn zhī

Meaning

  • particlein

Example

中奖的概率只有千分之一。zhòng jiǎng de gài lǜ zhí yǒu qiān fēn zhī yī

The chance of winning is only one in a thousand.

Illustration for 分之 (in)

More examples

班里有三分之二的学生参加了比赛。bān lǐ yǒu sān fēn zhī èr de xué shēng cān jiā le bǐ sài

Two-thirds of the students in the class took part in the competition.

Core concept

A fraction frame that names the whole number of equal parts before naming the parts taken from it.

Common phrases

  • 三分之二sān fēn zhī èr

    two-thirds

  • 百分之三十bǎi fēn zhī sān shí

    thirty percent

  • 十分之一shí fēn zhī yī

    one-tenth

Similar words

百分之bǎi fēn zhī: Expresses a percentage by showing how many of 100 equal parts are included.
千分之qiān fēn zhī: Expresses a proportion by showing how many of 1,000 equal parts are included.

Definition in Chinese

用作表示分率的结构助词，写作“X分之Y”，意为将X等分后取其中的Y，常用于表达概率和比例。yòng zuò biǎo shì fēn lǜ de jié gòu zhù cí xiě zuò X fēn zhī Y yì wèi jiāng X děng fēn hòu qǔ qí zhōng de Y cháng yòng yú biǎo dá gài lǜ hé bǐ lì

Word origin

In the written form, 分 (fēn, "divide") names the separation into parts, while 之 (zhī, "of; linking word") connects that division to the counted portion.

Usage tips

  • In Chinese, probability expressions state the total number of equal parts before the number selected, unlike the usual English order in phrases such as "one in a thousand".

Word lists with this word