半 bàn — half; semi-; incomplete; (after a number) and a half; half
这个苹果分给你一半。Zhè ge píng guǒ fēn gěi nǐ yí bàn.I will give you half of this apple.
Common words: 一半 (yī bàn)、半天 (bàn tiān)、半年 (bàn nián)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "half"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "half", including 半 (bàn), 半 (bàn). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms, common words, and examples.
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "half" covers 2 different Chinese characters — 半 (bàn), 半 (bàn) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 2 characters happen to share the reading bàn, so lean on the words and written forms to tell them apart. The example sentences further down show how 半 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 半 bànhalf; semi-; incomplete; (after a number) and a half; halfUseful words: 一半, 半天
- 半 bànhalf; semi-; incomplete; (after a number) and a half; halfUseful words: 一半, 半天
Common words for these 2 "half" characters
Anchor each of these 2 characters in a word you can picture — start with 半 (bàn) — so "half" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
See each character in a sentence
Each character below is shown in a short example sentence with pinyin and an English translation — the quickest way to feel the difference between the 2 ways to say "half".
半 bàn — half; semi-; incomplete; (after a number) and a half; half
这个苹果分给你一半。Zhè ge píng guǒ fēn gěi nǐ yí bàn.I will give you half of this apple.
Common words: 一半 (yī bàn)、半天 (bàn tiān)、半年 (bàn nián)
All 2 characters
Open 半、半 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.