分类
fēnlèi · HSK 5
to classify
🗂️ 分 (divide) + 类 (kind/category) = sort into kinds
分 means to divide or split; 类 means kind, type, or category. Together 分类 literally reads as divide-into-categories, i.e. to classify or sort. Common in contexts like 垃圾分类 (garbage sorting).
分 — knife 刀 + eight 八 (split apart)
分 originally depicted a knife (刀) cutting something into two parts, shown by 八 above (which itself meant 'divide'). The core sense is 'to divide' or 'split', from which extended meanings like 'portion', 'minute', and 'part' developed. Pronounced fèn, it carries the sense of an allotted share.
类 — rice 米 + big 大 + dog 犬
类 (traditional 類) originally combined 米 (rice/grains) with 犬 (dog), suggesting things grouped by similarity, possibly from sorting grains or comparing dogs of a kind. Over time it came to mean 'kind, type, category.' The simplified form keeps 米 over 大, dropping the dog.