<p>I would parse this as 看, look, 在, at, preposition (or result complement), 孩子, kids, 的, possessive particles, 分, separation, 上, a postposition forming a "prepositional sandwich" with 在. So literally, I would translate it to "Looking on the side of the children", which I would then render more loosely as "for the children's sake". So neither of those should be single words, they should both be two words, <code>kàn zài</code> and <code>fèn shàng</code>.</p>

<p>Then again, this is just my two cents, and I'm neither an expert, nor someone who's ever seen these two character combinations before, nor a mother-tongue.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-08-31T10:39:49.083Z
I did not read your answer at first. I think you have analyzed it correctly
Peter Pan
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-08-30T18:43:35.043Z
2015-08-30T18:43:35.043Z
MickG
<p>People I ask agree with user3306356 it's '看在 。。。的份上' which means 'because of'.</p>

<p>A bit more info I got: There is a saying 《不看僧面看佛面》 《不看僧》 means 《不看在僧的份上》and 《看佛面》means 《看在佛的份上》</p>

<p>Not for the sake of the monk, but for the sake of the Buddha. </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-08-31T09:03:33.583Z
2015-08-31T09:19:17.247Z
2015-08-31T09:19:17.247Z
Peter Pan
<p>看在</p>
<p><strong>ABC</strong></p>
<blockquote>
<p>2 be for the sake of ...</p>
<p>看在你爸的面子上, 我原谅你。</p>
<p>Kànzài nǐ bà de miànzi shàng, wǒ yuánliàng nǐ.</p>
<p>For the sake of your father's face, I forgive you.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>份上</p>
<p><strong>Guifan</strong></p>
<blockquote>
<p>2 名 情分; 情面</p>
<p>看在老人的份上, 我不再跟他计较。</p>
<p>(口语中也说份儿上。)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Which basically translates to <em>feelings, sensibilities, affections</em>.</p>
<p>for the sake of, for sb.'s/sth.'s sake</p>
<p><strong>ABC ENGLISH</strong></p>
<blockquote>
<p>wèile ( ... de lìyì) 为了(…的利益) ; kànzài ... de fèn shang 看在…的份上</p>
<p>We must do this for the sake of the children.</p>
<p>为了孩子,我们必须做这件事。</p>
<p>Wèile háizi, wǒmen bìxū zuò zhè jiàn shì.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>So now we have our 看在…的份上 construct meaning roughly the equivalent of &quot;for the sake of, for sb.'s/sth.'s sake&quot; where 看在 means &quot;for the sake&quot; and &quot;份上&quot; means feelings or sensibilities.</p>
<p>You can stick anything in the middle for the &quot;who's&quot; sake/sensibilities/feelings/etc.</p>
<p>Some examples: (from Oxford)</p>
<blockquote>
<p>for God's sake</p>
<p>看在上帝的分上</p>
</blockquote>
<br>
<blockquote>
<p>for Pete's sake!</p>
<p>看在老天的份上！</p>
</blockquote>
<br>
<blockquote>
<p>for heaven's sake</p>
<p>看在上帝的份上</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-08-31T02:54:09.993Z
2015-08-31T03:03:00.007Z
2020-06-17T09:50:11.587Z
Mou某
<blockquote>
  <p>看在孩子的分上，夫妇二人没有离婚。</p>
</blockquote>

<p>In the phrase above, what do they mean?
Neither is found in a dictionary.</p>

<p>The sentence is said to translate to "The pair would not divorce because of the children".</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-08-31T18:34:09.943Z
@songyuanyao Agreed, and I think that's the key to understanding this structure.
NS.X.
<grammar><meaning><vocabulary>
What is the meaning of 看在 and 分上?
# What is the meaning of 看在 and 分上?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2015-08-30)

> 看在孩子的分上，夫妇二人没有离婚。

In the phrase above, what do they mean?
Neither is found in a dictionary.

The sentence is said to translate to "The pair would not divorce because of the children".

**Tags:** grammar, meaning, vocabulary

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: @songyuanyao Agreed, and I think that's the key to understanding this structure.  

---

## 3 answers

### Answer by username_4 on 2015-08-31. Score: 4 | Accepted answer

看在

**ABC**

> 2 be for the sake of ...
>
> 看在你爸的面子上, 我原谅你。
>
> Kànzài nǐ bà de miànzi shàng, wǒ yuánliàng nǐ.
>
> For the sake of your father's face, I forgive you.

份上

**Guifan**

> 2 名 情分; 情面
>
> 看在老人的份上, 我不再跟他计较。
>
> (口语中也说份儿上。)

Which basically translates to *feelings, sensibilities, affections*.

for the sake of, for sb.'s/sth.'s sake

**ABC ENGLISH**

> wèile ( ... de lìyì) 为了(…的利益) ; kànzài ... de fèn shang 看在…的份上
>
> We must do this for the sake of the children.
>
> 为了孩子,我们必须做这件事。
>
> Wèile háizi, wǒmen bìxū zuò zhè jiàn shì.

So now we have our 看在…的份上 construct meaning roughly the equivalent of "for the sake of, for sb.'s/sth.'s sake" where 看在 means "for the sake" and "份上" means feelings or sensibilities.

You can stick anything in the middle for the "who's" sake/sensibilities/feelings/etc.

Some examples: (from Oxford)

> for God's sake
>
> 看在上帝的分上

  
> for Pete's sake!
>
> 看在老天的份上！

  
> for heaven's sake
>
> 看在上帝的份上


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### Answer by username_2 on 2015-08-30. Score: 2

I would parse this as 看, look, 在, at, preposition (or result complement), 孩子, kids, 的, possessive particles, 分, separation, 上, a postposition forming a "prepositional sandwich" with 在. So literally, I would translate it to "Looking on the side of the children", which I would then render more loosely as "for the children's sake". So neither of those should be single words, they should both be two words, `kàn zài` and `fèn shàng`.

Then again, this is just my two cents, and I'm neither an expert, nor someone who's ever seen these two character combinations before, nor a mother-tongue.

> **Comments:**
> **username_3**: I did not read your answer at first. I think you have analyzed it correctly  

---

### Answer by username_3 on 2015-08-31. Score: 0

People I ask agree with user3306356 it's '看在 。。。的份上' which means 'because of'.

A bit more info I got: There is a saying 《不看僧面看佛面》 《不看僧》 means 《不看在僧的份上》and 《看佛面》means 《看在佛的份上》

Not for the sake of the monk, but for the sake of the Buddha.


---

