Meaning of 一半
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- half
How to use 一半
一半 means half of something and often takes 的 before a noun, or stands alone as the object. It can also mean partly, as in 一半是…一半是… (half this, half that). Example: 我吃了一半的苹果。(Wǒ chī le yībàn de píngguǒ.) I ate half of the apple.
一 (yī) means one and 半 (bàn) means half, so 一半 is literally one half. Picture the vertical line in 半 cutting something straight down the middle into two equal parts.
Common mistake: Learners often say 一半个 for half of one, but the correct form is 半个 (bàn gè), as in 半个小时 (bàn gè xiǎoshí), half an hour. Also note the tone sandhi: before fourth-tone 半, 一 is said in the second tone, so it sounds like yíbàn.
一半 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
一 yī · one · 1 strokes
- 1
半 bàn · half · 5 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
Related words
Words that share a character with 一半.
| 一起 | yīqǐ | (in) the same place; together; in company (with) |
| 一样 | yīyàng | same; like |
| 一些 | yīxiē | some; a few; a little; (following an adjective) slightly ...er |
| 一会儿 | yīhuìr | a moment; a while |
| 一边 | yībiān | one side; either side |
| 一点儿 | yīdiǎnr | erhua variant of 一點|一点[yi1 dian3] |
| 半年 | bàn nián | half a year |
| 一块儿 | yīkuàir | erhua variant of 一塊|一块[yi1 kuai4] |
| 半天 | bàntiān | half of the day; a long time |
| 一下儿 | yīxiàr | erhua form of 一下[yi1 xia4] |
| 有一些 | yǒuyīxiē | somewhat; rather |
| 一定 | yīdìng | surely; certainly; definitely; fixed; settled |
Questions about 一半
What does 一半 mean?
一半 (yībàn) means "half" and is used as a numeral.
How do you write 一半?
一半 is made of 2 characters: 一 (1 strokes), 半 (5 strokes). That is 6 strokes in total.
Is 一半 an HSK word?
Yes. 一半 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 一半 and 半?
半 goes directly before a measure word, as in 半天 (bàntiān) or 半个月 (bàn gè yuè). 一半 is used on its own or before 的 plus a noun, as in 一半的人 (yībàn de rén), half of the people.
How do I say one and a half in Chinese?
Put 半 after the measure word: 一个半小时 (yí gè bàn xiǎoshí) means one and a half hours. Do not use 一半 in this pattern.