The character 部分 is formed through the combination of two independent semantic-ideographic components. The first character, 部, is itself a compound, originally depicting a mound or settlement (阝, the "place" radical) combined with a phonetic component (咅), and carried the core meaning of a division or section. The second character, 分, is a pictographic representation of a knife (刀) dividing something into two, conveying the fundamental idea of separation or a portion. When combined, these characters create a conceptually reinforced compound meaning "a part" or "section", where 分 provides the core notion of a divided piece, and 部 gives that piece a contextual sense of belonging to a larger, organized whole.