Unterteilen

Unterteilen is a German verb meaning to subdivide or to divide something into parts or sections. It is used for both tangible objects, such as land, buildings, or plans, and for abstract constructs, such as chapters, categories, or datasets. The action implies hierarchical division within a larger whole rather than simply distributing items into separate, equal units.

Common contexts include geography and administration, where a territory or district is described as being unterteilt into Bezirke or other subdivisions. In literature or publishing, a book or chapter can be unterteilt into sections or subsections. In data processing, information or datasets can be unterteilt into categories or bins. The construction typically uses a relation such as in plus the target of division, for example in drei Teile, in Bezirke, or in Kapitel.

Etymology and related forms: unterteilen is formed from unter- (sub-, below) and teilen (to divide). The noun form is die Unterteilung, meaning subdivision or partition. Related verbs that express similar but distinct concepts include einteilen (to allocate into groups or classes), aufteilen (to split up into parts, often with a sense of distributing), and gliedern (to structure or organize). In usage, unterteilen emphasizes creating hierarchical or internal divisions within a larger whole, rather than merely distributing elements into separate groups.