分红

• Pinyin: fēn hóng
• Hanzi breakdown: 分 = 八 + 刀 (to divide); 红 = 纟+ 工 (silk thread radical + work — originally: pink/red; by extension in commerce: profit, bonus)

Meaning

Profit sharing; dividend; bonus distribution. The act of distributing profits or earnings among shareholders, employees, or other stakeholders.

Used in business and financial contexts to describe the distribution of company profits to shareholders (股东分红), employees (员工分红), or other participants. Can be a noun (这次分红) or a verb (公司决定分红). Common in year-end bonuses, cooperative enterprises, and insurance contexts.

Examples

1. 这家集体企业按劳动贡献和持股比例进行年末分红。 This collective enterprise distributes year-end dividends according to labor contribution and shareholding.
2. 基金收益优于市场，公司决定按持有份额比例分红。 The fund outperformed the market, so the company decided to distribute dividends by shareholding proportion.
3. 业绩不佳时照常分红，可能消耗留存收益和长期潜力。 Paying dividends as usual during poor performance may consume retained earnings and long-term potential.

Usage Guide

Context: business, finance, investment

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 公司章程规定每个财年结束后的三个月内，董事会须就是否向普通股股东进行现金分红作出决议，并将拟分配金额及比例以书面形式通知全体股东。(The company articles stipulate that within three months of the end of each financial year, the board of directors must pass a resolution on whether to make a cash dividend payment to ordinary shareholders, and notify all shareholders in writing of the proposed distribution amount and ratio.)
• 律所合伙人通常按资历、创收和客户资源参与年度分红。(Law-firm partners usually join annual profit distribution based on seniority, revenue, and client resources.)

Don't Say

• 分红 to refer to a general salary bonus or performance award — use 奖金 or 绩效奖励 for those; 分红 specifically implies a share of profits distributed to stakeholders or participants

Origin & History

分 (to distribute, to share) + 红 (red; profit; bonus — 红 in Chinese business culture traditionally represents profit and good fortune) — to distribute profits

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal