区分け|くわけkuwake[0]heiban (flat)

1. noun, suru verb, transitive verbdivision; section; demarcation; (traffic) lane; compartment; classification; sorting

• Synonym区分くぶんNeutralFormal, administrative-flavoured division or classification, as in 「区分所有」; 「区分け」 leans toward the practical act of dividing something up.
• Synonym区画くかくNeutralDivision of land or space into blocks, as in 「区画整理」; the focus is on marked-off plots or compartments rather than the act of sorting.
• Synonym仕切るしきるNeutralVerb for partitioning a space; also means running or taking charge of things, as in 「会を仕切る」.
• Synonym種別しゅべつWrittenWritten/formal word for distinguishing things by type, or the type distinction itself; often seen as an item heading on forms and tables.
• Synonym分かつわかつWrittenWritten/formal verb for dividing or sharing, as in 「袂を分かつ」; literary next to 「区分け」.
• Synonym分けるわけるNeutralThe most common verb: to divide, sort or share out; far broader in use than the noun 「区分け」.
• Synonym分別ぶんべつNeutralEveryday sorting of things by type for handling or disposal, as in 「ゴミの分別」; closer to daily sorting than to dividing a whole.
• Synonym分類ぶんるいNeutralClassifying by a set standard into categories; standard in both everyday and academic contexts.
• Synonym区切るくぎるNeutralVerb for marking off sections or breaking text into chunks; also used for punctuating or pausing when reading.
• Synonym仕分けしわけNeutralSorting or picking items, as in logistics 「仕分け作業」; in bookkeeping it means journal entries — a narrower, more hands-on sense than 「区分け」.
• Synonym区割りくわりNeutralDemarcating land boundaries or constituencies, as in 「区割り案」; leans toward fixing administrative areas.
• Related分割ぶんかつNeutralSplitting something into parts, also used for instalments as in 「分割払い」; stresses cutting into portions, not classifying.
• Related区別くべつNeutralTelling things apart by their differences; the point is recognising distinctions, and no physical dividing-up is implied.
• Related分別ぶんべつNeutralEveryday sorting of things by type for handling or disposal, as in 「ゴミの分別」; closer to daily sorting than to dividing a whole.
• Related分離ぶんりNeutralSeparation: detaching things that were joined or connected; the emphasis is on coming apart, not on dividing into categories.
• Related境界きょうかいNeutralA boundary or border line — the result of dividing rather than the act itself.
• Related選別せんべつNeutralScreening or culling: picking things out by quality or set criteria, rather than dividing a whole into blocks.
• Related隔てるへだてるNeutralVerb for placing something between or keeping things apart, by distance or a barrier; also used for estranging people.
• Related整理せいりNeutralTidying or putting things in order, also letting staff go; the aim is orderliness, not dividing into sections.
• Related類別るいべつWrittenWritten/formal prose word for classifying by type; rarely seen in use.
• Related口分けくちわけNeutralAn assortment, a mix of different kinds put together; rare, and only loosely related to the sense of dividing.
• Related仕分けるしわけるNeutralA verb: to sort things by type and put them in order, as with goods or accounts; the focus is on grouping by kind.
• Related取り分けるとりわけるNeutralVerb for picking something out from the whole or serving portions onto individual plates; about distributing, not classifying.
• Related部分けぶわけNeutralSorting things into categories; uncommon — in daily speech 「分類」 is the normal choice.
• Related部別ぶべつWrittenWritten/formal word for dividing into several classes; little used in modern Japanese.
• Antonym統合とうごうNeutralIntegration or unification — the opposite of 「区分け」's dividing a whole into parts.
• Antonym一括いっかつNeutralHandling everything in one lot or lumping it together — the opposite of splitting things up.

Use 「区分け」 for dividing a whole into blocks or categories, as in 「地域の区分け」. For formal or administrative contexts say 「区分」; for dividing land or space into plots, 「区画」; for classifying by type, 「分類」; for sorting items, 「仕分け」. The antonyms are 「統合」 and 「一括」.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

1. もの全体ぜんたいをいくつかに分わけ、区切くぎること。