Usage of "分之"
"分之" is a grammatical structure used to express fractions in Mandarin Chinese. It is placed between the denominator and numerator, with the denominator before "分之" and the numerator after it. For example, "三分之一" means "one third" (literally "three parts of one").
Common contexts
It is commonly used in mathematical expressions, statistics, and percentages. When expressing percentages, "百分之" is used, where "百" means hundred, so "百分之十" means "10 percent".
Collocations and patterns
Notes
"分之" is a formal and standard way to express fractions and percentages in written and spoken Chinese. It differs from English where the numerator comes first. Avoid confusing it with "之" used in classical or literary contexts, which has different meanings.