等分
とうぶん · toubun · JLPT N2 · noun
parts
🍕 等 = equal + 分 = divide/part, so 等分 = divide into equal parts
等 (とう) means equal, as in 平等 (equality). 分 (ぶん) means part or divide, as in 分ける (to divide). Together they describe splitting something into equal portions.
等 — bamboo radical 竹 + temple 寺
Originally referred to bamboo slips of equal length used for record-keeping, with 竹 (bamboo) as the semantic component and 寺 suggesting the phonetic. From 'equal-length slips' the meaning extended to 'rank, class,' then 'equal,' and later to 'wait' (to be of equal status in line).
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.