分析 (fēn xī) means 'to analyze' — to examine something carefully by breaking it into parts to understand its nature, causes, or relationships. The character 分 (fēn) means 'to divide' or 'to separate,' and 析 (xī) means 'to dissect' or 'to examine closely.' Together, they convey the idea of systematic intellectual decomposition: separating a whole into components for deeper understanding. This word is commonly used in academic, scientific, business, and technical contexts — for example, analyzing data, symptoms, market trends, or literary texts.

It functions as a transitive verb and typically takes a direct object (e.g., 分析问题, 分析结果). While it can appear in spoken Chinese, it carries a formal or professional register and is less common in casual daily conversation than simpler verbs like 看 (kàn) or 想 (xiǎng). It’s also frequently used as a noun meaning 'analysis' (e.g., 进行分析), especially in written or technical language.