断片(だんぺん)

断片(だんぺん) refers to a small piece broken off from something larger, whether physical or abstract. It combines 断(だん) (cut, sever) + 片(ぺん) (piece, fragment).

Common collocations

• 記憶(きおく)の断片(だんぺん) (fragments of memory)
• 情報(じょうほう)の断片(だんぺん) (scraps of information)
• 会話(かいわ)の断片(だんぺん) (snatches of conversation)
• 知識(ちしき)の断片(だんぺん) (bits of knowledge)
• 断片(だんぺん)を集(あつ)める (gather fragments)

Forms

断片(だんぺん)的(てき) (fragmentary, piecemeal) is very commonly used:

• 断片(だんぺん)的(てき)な情報(じょうほう) (fragmentary information)
• 断片(だんぺん)的(てき)にしか分(わ)からない (only understand in bits and pieces)

Similar words

• 破片(はへん): physical fragments, shards (glass, pottery)
• 欠片(かけら): a chip, a piece (often physical, but also figurative)
• 断片(だんぺん): more often used for abstract concepts like memory and information