幾分
いくぶん · ikubun · JLPT N2 · adverb
somewhat
🍕 幾分 = some (幾) + portion (分): partly, so somewhat
幾 asks how many and also means a few; 分 means a part or portion. A few parts of the whole gives somewhat or slightly, as in 幾分良くなった, a bit better. Compare 半分, half, which uses the same 分.
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.