Meaning of 半天
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- half of the day
- a long time
- quite a while
- midair
Measure word: 個|个
How to use 半天
In everyday speech 半天 usually means a long while, often with a hint of complaint or exaggeration. It goes after the verb to show duration. 我等了你半天。(Wǒ děng le nǐ bàntiān.) I waited for you forever.
半 (bàn) means half and 天 (tiān) means day, so 半天 is literally half a day. Picture waiting so long that half your day disappears, and you get the common meaning of a long time.
Common mistake: Learners often put 半天 before the verb, as in 我半天等, but duration goes after the verb: 等了半天. Also do not confuse it with 一半 (yībàn), which means half of something, not half of a day.
半天 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.
半 bàn · half · 5 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
天 tiān · day · 4 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
Related words
Words that share a character with 半天.
| 今天 | jīntiān | today; the present time; now |
| 明天 | míngtiān | tomorrow |
| 昨天 | zuótiān | yesterday |
| 一半 | yībàn | half |
| 天气 | tiānqì | weather |
| 白天 | báitiān | daytime; during the day |
| 星期天 | xīngqītiān | Sunday |
| 半年 | bàn nián | half a year |
| 后天 | hòutiān | the day after tomorrow; life after birth (the period in which one develops through experie |
| 前天 | qiántiān | the day before yesterday |
| 夏天 | xiàtiān | summer |
| 春天 | chūntiān | spring (season) |
Questions about 半天
What does 半天 mean?
半天 (bàntiān) means "half of the day; a long time".
How do you write 半天?
半天 is made of 2 characters: 半 (5 strokes), 天 (4 strokes). That is 9 strokes in total.
Is 半天 an HSK word?
Yes. 半天 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
Does 半天 always mean exactly half a day?
No. It can mean a literal half day, like 我上午工作半天 (I work half a day in the morning), but most often it just means a long time. Context tells you which one.
What does 半天 mean in phrases like 想了半天?
想了半天 means thought about it for a long time. A pattern like 半天也没 shows that nothing happened even after a long time, as in 他半天也没说话 (He didn't say anything for a long time).