瓜分

guāfēn

verb HSK 7-9 #28,632

Meanings

HSK 5

列强瓜分了非洲的土地。

Lièqiáng guāfēn le Fēizhōu de tǔdì.

The great powers carved up Africa's territory.

HSK 7-9

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