占…（的）百分之…
to make up …% of; to account for (a share)
Structure
部分 占 整体 （的） 百分之 数字
What it means
“To make up …% of, to account for”: gives the share of a whole that a part takes.
How it is built
Part + 占 + whole + (的) + 百分之 + number: 我们班近视的同学占全班的百分之六十 (short-sighted pupils make up 60% of our class). Add 以上, 以下 or 左右 to round it.
When to use it
Use when the part and the whole are both named. For a rate on its own, with no whole, use 为 or 达到: 近视率为52.7%. 80% on the page is read 百分之八十.
Watch out
百分之 comes before the number, the reverse of English: ✗ 八十百分之 ✓ 百分之八十. Keep the order part + 占 + whole: 女生占全班的一半.
Examples
在这个城市，六十岁以上的老人占总人口的百分之二十左右。
In this city people over sixty make up about twenty per cent of the population.
我们班近视的同学占全班的百分之六十。
Short-sighted pupils make up sixty per cent of our class.
到了高中，近视的学生占全体高中生的百分之八十以上。
By senior secondary, short-sighted students make up more than eighty per cent of the total.
Learn this in Lesson 18 · HSK 5: “小眼镜”越来越多 (Why so many children wear glasses)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
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