百分点
bǎi fēn diǎn · HSK 6
percentage point
📊 百 + 分 + 点 = hundred + divide + point
百 (bǎi) means hundred, 分 (fēn) means divide/portion, 点 (diǎn) means point. Together: a hundredth-portion point, i.e. one percentage point. Used when comparing two percentages (e.g. 5% to 7% = 2 百分点).
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.
点 — fire radical 灬 + 占 (zhān, phonetic)
Originally written 點, a semantic-phonetic compound: 黑 (black) gave the meaning 'small black mark or dot' while 占 supplied the sound. It first referred to ink spots, then extended to 'point, drop, a little,' and verbs like 'to mark' or 'to light (a fire),' reflected in the simplified form's 灬 (fire) component.