Writing
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
to divide
to open
Radicals / Keys
Arch
#55 · gǒng · 3 strokes
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

[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. 🥧✂️
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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.
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