瓜分

guāfēn

verb HSK 7-9 #28,632

Meanings

列强瓜分了非洲的土地。

Liè qiáng guāfēn le Fēizhōu de tǔdì.

The great powers carved up Africa's territory.

几家公司瓜分了市场份额。

Jǐ jiā gōngsī guāfēn le shìchǎng fèn'é.

Several companies divided up the market share.

memory

瓜 (melon) + 分 (divide) — like cutting a melon into pieces, each person takes a slice.

usage

瓜分 has a negative connotation, implying greedy or aggressive division. Don't use it for fair sharing — use 分配 instead.

瓜 guā

分 fēn