分开 (fēn kāi) — how to say "to separate" in Chinese

分开

To separate

separable verb

How to use it

Splits into two parts, with other words in between: how much, how long, 了 or 过.

分不开

fēn bu kāi

can't be separated

Character composition

分

to divide

开

to open

Radicals / Keys

廾

Arch

#55 · gǒng · 3 strokes

刀

Knife

#18 · dāo · 2 strokes

Synonyms

Collocations

分开坐

fēnkāi zuò

sit separately

把书分开

bǎ shū fēnkāi

separate the books

Examples

请把垃圾分开扔到不同的桶里。

Please separate the trash into different bins.

我们分开走。

We go separately.

Mnemonic

Mnemonic for 分开 (fēn kāi) — to separate

[fēn kāi-] Fen the hedgehog carried one big pie, but his friends asked him to share. He carefully cut it with a knife and pulled the halves apart — now they were two separate pieces. "Keep them 分开!" said Fen, and everyone happily took a slice. 🥧✂️

Writing

Try remembering 分开

Three short exercises on meaning and pronunciation. Free, no sign-up needed.

Frequently asked questions

How to say separate in Chinese?

"to separate" in Chinese is 分开 (fēn kāi).

分开 meaning in English

分开 (fēn kāi) means "To separate".

How is 分开 pronounced?

It is pronounced fēn kāi (written as fen kai, fenkai). You can listen to the pronunciation on this page.

How do you write "to separate" in Chinese characters?

It is written 分开: 分 has 4 strokes, 开 has 4 strokes. The Writing section above animates the stroke order of each character and lets you trace it.

What HSK 3.0 level is 分开?

分开 is on the HSK 3.0 level 3 word list. It is not part of the six-level HSK 2.0 lists.

Tomyo

Learn Chinese words with spaced repetition

Add 分开 to your vocabulary and remember it with smart reviews, audio and examples.

Download the app

More HSK 3.0 level 3 words