百分比
bǎifēnbǐ · HSK 7
percent
💯 hundred-parts-compare: 百 hundred + 分 divide + 比 compare
Break a whole into a hundred equal parts, then compare how many you have. That ratio is your percentage — literally a hundred-part comparison.
百 — 一 (one) on top of 白 (white)
百 means 'hundred.' It combines 一 (one) above 白 (white), where 白 here is borrowed for its sound rather than its meaning. Some scholars see it as derived from an early form of 白 with an added stroke to mark the new numerical sense.
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.
比 — two 匕 (person) side by side
比 is a pictograph showing two people standing side by side, facing the same direction. From this image of paired figures came the core meaning 'to compare' or 'to be next to,' since comparing things naturally involves placing them alongside each other.