分量
ぶんりょう · bunryou · JLPT N2 · noun
sum
⚖️ 分 (divide, share out) + 量 (measure) = the measured amount of each share
分 means to divide or share out, and 量 means measure. Together they name how much you get when something is split up, like a serving of food or a dose of medicine.
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.
量 — top 旦 (sunrise) + bottom 里 (village/measure)
Originally a pictograph of a funnel or measuring vessel used to gauge grain. The form evolved to suggest weighing at sunrise (旦) over a measured area (里). It split into two readings: liáng 'to measure' (the action) and liàng 'quantity' (the result).