Freq. Frequency Top 100,000 Kanji 分 part, minute of time, segment Related words 五分五分 explicitly emphasizes a perfectly even 50-50 split or tie, while 五分 alone can convey the same idea more concisely, especially in set phrases.
五分五分 emphasizes an equal chance or likelihood (e.g. odds of winning), while 半々 more broadly describes any equal split or mixture of two things.
五分五分 is a common idiom meaning an even fifty-fifty chance or match, often used for odds and competitions, while フィフティーフィフティー is a more casual, modern loanword used more broadly for shares or splits.
五分五分 is a casual way to say something is a fifty-fifty or even match, while 伯仲 is a more formal word used to describe closely matched skill or competition.
Written forms 五ご 分ぶ 五ご 分ぶ
Standard kanji spelling; a yojijukugo meaning 'fifty-fifty'.
5ご 分ぶ 5ご 分ぶ
Numerical variant using half-width digits; less common but seen in informal writing.
Etymology From 五分 (gobu, 'half') repeated, literally 'five parts five parts', meaning equal halves. The reading ごぶ is a traditional unit of measurement (1 分 = 1/10), so 五分 = 5/10 = half.
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