分業
ぶんぎょう · bungyou · JLPT N1 · noun
labor
🏭 分 (divide) + 業 (work/trade): splitting work so each worker does one part
Think of a factory line: each worker handles one step, so the whole job gets divided up. 分業 is 'division of labor' and the assembly line it describes.
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.