分ける
わける · wakeru · JLPT N3 · verb-ichidan
to divide
🔪 分 = 八 (split apart) + 刀 (knife): a knife splits things in two
The top of 分 is 八, an old sign for two parts pulling apart, and the bottom is 刀, knife. 分かる (wakaru, to understand) has the same root: to understand something is to sort it into its parts.
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.