分 and 通 - Meaning

[tanuki]

Hi!

I have some trouble understanding the meaning of these two Kanji:

分

One meaning is "shaku/100". What on earth is that?

通

It says it's a "counter for letters". What kind of letters? Like "ABC" or like "mail letters"?

Thanks in advance for your help!

[zengargoyle]

a 尺 (しゃく）shaku is a unit of length ~ 12 inches.

通 i would guess is "mail letters", wikipedia has:

ji 字 Letters, kanji, kana
tsū 通 Letters
tsūwa 通話 Telephone calls

[Strawberry_Juice]

Regarding 分, it can be pronounced as:

Bun- share, lot
Wa(keru)- divide
Wa(karu)- be clear
Bu- rate, part
Fun- minute (of time).

However, in the name of the city of Oita, it is pronounced as "ita," I guess. Odd...

[tgmerritt]

jorge_val_ribera wrote:
分
One meaning is "shaku/100". What on earth is that?

The kanji has a lot of meanings. The simplest three that you should memorize are: minute, understand, and split (in two halves).

通
It says it's a "counter for letters". What kind of letters? Like "ABC" or like "mail letters"?

When counting a stack of letters (things you send in the mail), use 一通、二通、三通 where 通 is pronounced "つう" with the traditional changes for 1, 3, 6, and 8.

The simplest two meanings that you should memorize are: road and cross (the street).

For example, I live on　大博通り (taihakudori - Taihaku Street).

I hope that helps a little - I found the other posts really informative and wanted to add a little bit if I could

[coco]

分（ぶ）is　"measure" for proportion.
Originally, 一分（いちぶ）＝10%
ex.勝(かつ)つ可柏ｫ(かのうせい)は五分五分(ごぶごぶ)だ
＝ have a fifty-fifty chance of winning

We have a proverb like this.
「一寸(いっすん)の虫(むし)にも五分(ごぶ)の魂(たましい)」
liberal translation → "Even a smallest worm has its life."
translate literally →　”Even an 一寸 worm has half an 一寸 of spirit."
　一寸≒3cm 五分 is a half of an 一寸

One meaning is "shaku/100".

１尺(いっしゃく) ＝10寸＝100分 　*now 尺 and 寸 are hardly used.
[small]According to the dictionary,this proverb is very similar to those English proverb, "Even a worm may turn." "Everything has its place." [/small]

But, if 分(ぶ) is used with 割（わり）, the meaning changes to 1%, not 10%. When we express "batting average", 分 means １%．
ex. 松井(まつい)の打率(だりつ)は３割(さんわり)２分(にぶ)です。
＝Matsui is batting thirty two.(32％）

意味不明な点があれば、どなたかご指摘下さい。

[Gaijinian]

意味不明な点は全然ないんですよ。ＣｏＣｏの英語は段々自然になっていますね。B)

[coco]

ガイジニアンさんには前にもお世話になりました。
（ホストの実名を出した書き込みの件）
その節はありがとうございました。

すこし補足をしておきましょう。
尺、貫などの単位(尺貫法=しゃっかんほう）に関する説明は以下。
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_unit
(↑English）

尺や寸をすぐにｃｍに置き換えられる人はそれほど多くありませんので
あまり重要ではないけれど。。。
ただ、諺などには残ってますね。「一寸先は闇」とかね。