TSUMUGU · TOCFL 1 (est.) · 字
班
班 ＝ 玨 ＋ 刂
ㄅㄢ · bān
noun — class, group, team; a work shift
字源 FORM — what the parts do
玨義two pieces of jade, side by side (a pair of 玉)
刂義a knife, set between the two jades to divide them
A knife (刂) standing between two jades (玨) — splitting a jade token to share out as ranks and insignia, the original sense being to divide. From dividing into shares came a class or group of people (班級、全班), and a portioned-out turn of work (上班、夜班). The knife sits hidden in the middle, between the two jade halves.
故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by
一塊玉（玨）擺好，刀（刂）從中一分為二——班。
A jade (玨) is laid out; the knife (刂) splits it down the middle — dividing into shares.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
(本義)分、頒— to divide, distribute (jade tokens)
→班級、全班— class, group常用
⇒上班、班次— a work shift; scheduled run常用
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension
關 · Related
斑bānthe lookalike — 斑 keeps the two jades but swaps the knife for 文 (a spot, a streak)玉yùthe building piece — 班 sets two 玉 () and cuts between them