分子

Chinese

	to divide; minute; (a measure word) to divide; minute; (a measure word); (a unit of leng)	child; son; (noun suffix) child; son; (noun suffix); small thing; seed; egg; 1st earthly branch; 11 p.m.–1 a.m., midnight
trad. (分子)	分	子
simp. ^#(分子)	分	子
alternative forms	份子 Pronunciation 2

Wikipedia has articles on:

分子 (Written Standard Chinese^?)
分子 (Cantonese)
Hun-chú (Southern Min)

Etymology

This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.
Particularly: “sense of molecule being a calque of Latin particula?”

Pronunciation 1

Mandarin
(Pinyin): fēnzǐ

(Zhuyin): ㄈㄣㄗˇ
Cantonese
(Guangzhou–Hong Kong, Jyutping): fan⁶ zi² / fan¹ zi²

(Taishan, Wiktionary): fun⁵ du²
Southern Min
(Hokkien, POJ): hun-chír / hun-chú

(Teochew, Peng'im): hung¹ ze²

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: fēnzǐ
  - Zhuyin: ㄈㄣㄗˇ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: fenzǐh
  - Wade–Giles: fên¹-tzŭ³
  - Yale: fēn-dž
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: fentzyy
  - Palladius: фэньцзы (fɛnʹczy)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /fən⁵⁵ t͡sz̩²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
  - Jyutping: fan⁶ zi² / fan¹ zi²
  - Yale: fahn jí / fān jí
  - Cantonese Pinyin: fan⁶ dzi² / fan¹ dzi²
  - Guangdong Romanization: fen⁶ ji² / fen¹ ji²
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /fɐn²² t͡siː³⁵/, /fɐn⁵⁵ t͡siː³⁵/
  - Homophones:
    ^edit
    ^edit
    份子
    分子
- (Taishanese, Taicheng)
  - Wiktionary: fun⁵ du²
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /fun³² tu⁵⁵/
Southern Min
- (Hokkien: Quanzhou)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hun-chír
  - Tâi-lô: hun-tsír
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /hun³³ t͡sɯ⁵⁵⁴/
- (Hokkien: General Taiwanese, Xiamen, Zhangzhou)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hun-chú
  - Tâi-lô: hun-tsú
  - Phofsit Daibuun: hunzuo
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /hun⁴⁴⁻³³ t͡su⁴¹/
  - IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou): /hun⁴⁴⁻²² t͡su⁵³/
  - IPA (Taipei): /hun⁴⁴⁻³³ t͡su⁵³/
- (Teochew)
  - Peng'im: hung¹ ze²
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: hung tsṳ́
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /huŋ³³⁻²³ t͡sɯ⁵²/

Middle Chinese: pjun tsiX

Rime
Character	分	子
Reading #	1/2	1/1
Initial (聲)	幫 (1)	精 (13)
Final (韻)	文 (59)	之 (19)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)	Rising (X)
Openness (開合)	Closed	Open
Division (等)	III	III
Fanqie	府文切	即里切
Baxter	pjun	tsiX
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/pɨun/	/t͡sɨ^X/
Pan Wuyun	/piun/	/t͡sɨ^X/
Shao Rongfen	/piuən/	/t͡sie^X/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/pun/	/t͡sɨ^X/
Li Rong	/piuən/	/t͡siə^X/
Wang Li	/pĭuən/	/t͡sĭə^X/
Bernhard Karlgren	/pi̯uən/	/t͡si^X/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	fēn	zǐ
Expected Cantonese Reflex	fan¹	zi²

Old Chinese
(Baxter–Sagart): /*pə[n] tsəʔ/

(Zhengzhang): /*pɯn ʔslɯʔ/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	分	子
Reading #	1/2	2/2
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	fēn	zǐ
Middle Chinese	‹ pjun ›	‹ tsi^X ›
Old Chinese	/*pə[n]/	/*tsəʔ/
English	divide	child; gentleman, master
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. [t] as coda may in fact be -t or -p; Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	分	子
Reading #	1/2	1/1
No.	3148	17857
Phonetic component	分	子
Rime group	文	之
Rime subdivision	1	0
Corresponding MC rime	分	子
Old Chinese	/*pɯn/	/*ʔslɯʔ/

Noun

分子

side branch in a family tree
- 燕，周之分子也。 [Classical Chinese, trad. and simp.]
  From: Commentary of Guliang, circa 206 BCE– 9 CE
  Yān, Zhōu zhī fēnzǐ yě. [Pinyin]
  (please add an English translation of this usage example)
component
(chemistry) molecule
極性分子／极性分子 ― jíxìng fēnzǐ ― polar molecule

一分子甲烷 ― yī fēnzǐ jiǎwán ― a molecule of methane
(arithmetic) numerator

Derived terms

分子式 (fēnzǐshì)
分子晶體／分子晶体 (fēnzǐ jīngtǐ)
分子生物學／分子生物学 (fēnzǐ shēngwùxué)
分子結構／分子结构 (fēnzǐ jiégòu)
超分子 (chāofēnzǐ)

Pronunciation 2

Mandarin
(Pinyin): fènzǐ

(Zhuyin): ㄈㄣˋ ㄗˇ
Cantonese
(Guangzhou–Hong Kong, Jyutping): fan⁶ zi²

(Taishan, Wiktionary): fun⁵ du²
Southern Min
(Hokkien, POJ): hūn-chír / hūn-chú

(Teochew, Peng'im): hung⁷ ze²

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: fènzǐ
  - Zhuyin: ㄈㄣˋ ㄗˇ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: fènzǐh
  - Wade–Giles: fên⁴-tzŭ³
  - Yale: fèn-dž
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: fenntzyy
  - Palladius: фэньцзы (fɛnʹczy)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /fən⁵¹ t͡sz̩²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
  - Jyutping: fan⁶ zi²
  - Yale: fahn jí
  - Cantonese Pinyin: fan⁶ dzi²
  - Guangdong Romanization: fen⁶ ji²
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /fɐn²² t͡siː³⁵/
  - Homophones:
    ^edit
    ^edit
    份子
    分子
- (Taishanese, Taicheng)
  - Wiktionary: fun⁵ du²
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /fun³² tu⁵⁵/
Southern Min
- (Hokkien: Quanzhou)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hūn-chír
  - Tâi-lô: hūn-tsír
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /hun⁴¹⁻²² t͡sɯ⁵⁵⁴/
- (Hokkien: General Taiwanese, Xiamen, Zhangzhou)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hūn-chú
  - Tâi-lô: hūn-tsú
  - Phofsit Daibuun: huxnzuo
  - IPA (Taipei): /hun³³⁻¹¹ t͡su⁵³/
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /hun³³⁻²¹ t͡su⁴¹/
  - IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou): /hun²²⁻²¹ t͡su⁵³/
- (Teochew)
  - Peng'im: hung⁷ ze²
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: hūng tsṳ́
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /huŋ¹¹ t͡sɯ⁵²/

Noun

分子

(chiefly derogatory) member (of a class); element (of a group of people)
不法分子 ― bùfǎ fènzǐ ― offender

分裂分子 ― fēnliè fènzǐ ― separatist

Derived terms

反革命分子 (fǎngémìng fènzǐ)
叛亂分子／叛乱分子 (pànluàn fènzǐ)
右翼分子 (yòuyì fènzǐ)
壞分子／坏分子 (huàifènzǐ)
左翼分子 (zuǒyì fènzǐ)
恐怖分子 (kǒngbùfènzǐ)
投機分子／投机分子 (tóujī fènzǐ)
極端分子／极端分子 (jíduān fènzǐ)
活動分子／活动分子 (huódòng fènzǐ)
活躍分子／活跃分子 (huóyuè fènzǐ)
犯罪分子 (fànzuì fènzǐ)
異議分子／异议分子 (yìyì fènzǐ)
知識分子／知识分子
積極分子／积极分子 (jījí fènzǐ)

Pronunciation 3

Mandarin
(Pinyin): fènzi

(Zhuyin): ㄈㄣˋ ˙ㄗ

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: fènzi
  - Zhuyin: ㄈㄣˋ ˙ㄗ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: fènzi̊h
  - Wade–Giles: fên⁴-tzŭ⁵
  - Yale: fèn-dz
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: fenn.tzy
  - Palladius: фэньцзы (fɛnʹczy)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /fən⁵¹ d͡z̥z̩¹/

Noun

分子

Taiwan standard form of 份子 (fènzi).

Pronunciation 4

Xiang (Changsha, Wiktionary): fen¹ zr / fen⁵ zr

Xiang
- (Changsha)
  - Wiktionary: fen¹ zr / fen⁵ zr
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɸən³³ t͡sz̩³/, /ɸən²¹⁻¹¹ t͡sz̩³/

Noun

分子

(Xiang) mark; grade; score

Synonyms

分數／分数 (fēnshù)

Japanese

Kanji in this term
分	子
ぶん Grade: 2	し Grade: 1
goon

分子 on Japanese Wikipedia

Etymology

From Middle Chinese 分子 (pjun tsiX).

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) ぶんし [búꜜǹshì] (Atamadaka – [1])^[1]
IPA^(key): [bɯ̟̃ɰ̃ɕi]

Noun

分(ぶん)子(し) • (bunshi)

Related terms

分母(ぶんぼ) (bunbo): denominator

References

^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

2002, Ineko Kondō; Fumi Takano; Mary E Althaus; et. al., Shogakukan Progressive Japanese-English Dictionary, Third Edition, Tokyo: Shōgakukan, →ISBN.

Korean

Hanja in this term
分	子

Noun

分子 • (bunja) (hangeul 분자)

hanja form^? of 분자 (“molecule; element; numerator”)

Vietnamese

chữ Hán Nôm in this term
分	子

Noun

分子

chữ Hán form of phân tử (“molecule, element”).
chữ Hán form of phần tử (“member (of a class); element (of a group of people, things)”).

[DJR-1] Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

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