okonomiyaki wo kiriwake, torizara ni oita.

切る simply means to cut.

切り分ける means to cut something into pieces and separate/portion it out. In this sentence, it suggests not just cutting the okonomiyaki once, but dividing it into servings.

So:

• お好み焼きを切った = cut the okonomiyaki
• お好み焼きを切り分けた = cut the okonomiyaki into portions

That makes 切り分ける a very natural verb here.

The particle を marks the direct object of the verb.

Here, お好み焼き is the thing being cut up, so it takes を:

• お好み焼きを切り分け
  = cut up the okonomiyaki

A natural English way to think of it is: What did they cut up?
Answer: the okonomiyaki.

The particle に marks the destination or place where something is put.

So:

• 取り皿に置いた = placed it on / onto the small plate

Even though English often says on the plate, Japanese commonly uses に for the target location of placement.

取り皿 means a small plate used for taking a portion of food, often called a side plate or serving plate in English.

In shared-meal situations in Japan, food may be placed in the center and then people take some onto their own 取り皿.

Reading:

• 取り皿（とりざら）

This is a way of linking verbs. The form 切り分け is the verb stem (more technically, the masu-stem or continuative form) of 切り分ける, and it connects to the next action.

So:

• 切り分け、取り皿に置いた。 = cut it into portions, and placed it on the plate

This has a slightly more written or narrative feel than 切り分けて、取り皿に置いた.

All of these are possible, but they have slightly different style/feel:

• 切り分けて、置いた = very common spoken/written connection
• 切り分け、置いた = a bit more concise, written, or narrative
• 切り分けた。置いた。 = two fully separate actions

Yes. Even though only the final verb is explicitly in the past tense, the whole sequence is understood as past.

So:

• 切り分け、取り皿に置いた。 = cut it up and placed it on the plate

The first action is linked to the second one, and the final tense applies to the whole chain.

The subject is omitted, which is very normal in Japanese.

Japanese often leaves out information that is obvious from context, especially:

• I
• you
• he/she
• we/they

So this sentence could mean:

• I cut up the okonomiyaki and put it on the plate
• She cut up the okonomiyaki and put it on the plate
• They cut up the okonomiyaki and put it on the plate

The exact subject would come from the surrounding context.

Yes. Here 置いた means put, placed, or set down.

The dictionary form is:

• 置く（おく） = to put/place

In other contexts, 置く can also mean things like leave or set aside, but in this sentence the meaning is clearly placed it on the small plate.

No. Normal Japanese writing does not usually use spaces between words like this.

A standard version would be:

お好み焼きを切り分け、取り皿に置いた。

Spaces are often added only in learner materials to make the sentence easier to read.

The sentence is read:

おこのみやきを きりわけ、とりざらに おいた。

Word by word:

• お好み焼き（おこのみやき）
• を
• 切り分け（きりわけ）
• 取り皿（とりざら）
• に
• 置いた（おいた）

One thing learners sometimes notice is that 分け in 切り分け is read わけ, not ぶんけ or anything similar. That is just the normal reading in the verb 分ける（わける）.

Yes, it can, depending on context.

Japanese often does not mark singular vs. plural as clearly as English does. So 取り皿に置いた can mean:

• placed it on a small plate
• placed the pieces onto small plates

If the context is serving several people, English might naturally translate it as put the pieces onto side plates, even though Japanese does not explicitly pluralize 取り皿 here.