分之 (fēnzhī) is used to form a fraction in Chinese. When expressing a fraction, the denominator is always said before the numerator. This pattern is also the way percentages are expressed in Chinese.

So a 1/2 is read 二分之一 (èr fēnzhī yī), not 一分之二 (yī fēnzhī èr). 5/6 is read 六分之五 (liù fēnzhī wǔ). To say a percentage, for example, 50 percent, you would say 百分之五十 (bǎi fēnzhī wǔshí).

Basic Form

蛋糕还有八分之一。 Dàngāo háiyǒu bā fēn zhī yī. There is still one eighth of the cake left.
这桶水还有五分之三。 Zhè tǒng shuǐ háiyǒu wǔ fēn zhī sān.
This bucket of water is still three fifths full.
我的手机电量还有百分之三十。 Wǒ de shǒujī diànliàng háiyǒu bǎifēnzhī sānshí.
My phone battery still has 30% left.
押金要付百分之二十。 Yājīnyào fù bǎifēnzhī èrshí.
The deposit is 20%.

Advanced Usage

Structure

Examples

我们班有三分之一的同学是外国人。 Wǒmen bān yǒu sān fēn zhī yī de tóngxué shì wàiguó rén.
One third of our classmates are foreign students.
美国人口差不多是中国人口的四分之一。 Měiguó rénkǒu chàbuduō shì Zhōngguó rénkǒu de sì fēn zhī yī.
America's population is about one fourth that of China's.
我们学校四分之三的老师都是男老师。 Wǒmen xuéxiào sì fēn zhī sān de lǎoshī dōu shì nán lǎoshī.
Three fourths of the teachers at our school are male teachers.
我们的需求占整个市场需求的十分之三。 Wǒmen de xūqiú zhàn zhěng gè shìchǎng xūqiú de shí fēn zhī sān.
Our demands take up three tenths of the entire markets demands.
电动车的销量占新车销量的八分之五。 Diàndòngchē de xiāoliàng zhàn xīn chē xiāoliàng de bā fēn zhī wǔ.
Electric car sales occupies five eighths of all new car sales.
Trump 在这个州的支持率是百分之五十七点四。 Trump zài zhège zhōu de zhīchí lǜ shì bǎifēnzhī wǔshí qī diǎn sì.
In this state, Trump has a support rate of 57.4%.
过去二十年，大城市年轻人的离婚率增加了百分之八。 Dà chéngshì niánqīng rén de líhūn lǜ zēngjiā bǎifēnzhī bā.
In the past 20 years, the divorce rate for young people in big cities has gone up by 8%.

Contents

Basic Form

Advanced Usage

Structure

Examples

See Also

Sources and further reading

Books