八はっ九く分ぶ

adverb

nearly; almost; eight or nine parts out of ten

Rare literary adverb meaning 'almost entirely' or 'for the most part'. Literally 'eight or nine parts out of ten'. Modern Japanese normally uses ほとんど, ほぼ, or 九分通り instead.

See also: 九分通り

• 昔むかしの文ぶん献けんには「八はっ九く分ぶできあがった」のような表ひょう現げんが見みられる。

  In old documents, expressions like 'it was nearly finished' can be found.