to divide; to separate / to distribute; to allocate / to distinguish (good and bad) / (bound form) branch of (an organization); sub- (as in 分局[fen1 ju2]) / fraction / one tenth (of certain units) / unit of length equivalent to 0.33 cm / minute (unit of time) / minute (angular measurement unit) / a point (in sports or games) / 0.01 yuan (unit of money)
分
=
八
+
刀
:
Symbol for this character: A stopwatch (from the meaning "minute"). Frankenstein's monster (f) participates in the annual championship of chopping eight-balls (八) in front of the encampment ((e)n1). Using a cleaver (刀), he chops (kind of divides / separates (分)) as many eight-balls as he can in one minute (分).
Marie Curie (xi) got a new mass spectrometer (析) for Christmas. In front of the space station (Ø1) she smashes the Christmas tree (木) into a small powder using two barbells (斤) so that she can analyze (析) it with her new mass spectrometer.
to reside / to live / to dwell / to be in / to be situated at / to stay / to get along with / to be in a position of / to deal with / to discipline / to punish
处
=
卜
+
夂
:
Chantal Chicken has found the perfect spot for her performance. In the space station's bathroom she puts on her high heels, sets up the voodoo staff, turns on the spotlight and practices her voodoo pole dance in this protected location.
to handle / to treat / to deal with / to process / to deal with a criminal case / to mete out punishment / to offer for sale at a reduced price / to punish
texture / grain (of wood) / inner essence / intrinsic order / reason / logic / truth / science / natural science (esp. physics) / to manage / to pay attention to / to run (affairs) / to handle / to put in order / to tidy up
理
=
王
+
里
:
Li Qingzhao (li) and Martin Luther King (王) have the mission to find out the intrinsic order (理) and inner essence (理) of sunflowers (里) in the space station (Ø3). They grow a few sunflowers and care for them very meticulously, talking to them and everything.