Chinese word

一半

Pronunciation

Pinyinyī bàn

Meaning

  • nounhalf

Example

他吃了一半。tā chī le yí bàn

He ate half.

Illustration for 一半 (half)

More examples

杯子里还剩下一半。bēi zi lǐ hái shèng xià yí bàn

There is still half left in the cup.

Core concept

A whole split into two equal sides, with one side also marking the middle of an amount or process.

Common phrases

  • 吃了一半chī le yí bàn

    ate half

  • 喝了一半hē le yí bàn

    drank half

  • 还有一半hái yǒu yí bàn

    half remains

Similar words

半bàn: One of two equal parts of a whole, expressed in a compact form.
一半儿yí bànr: A Northern Mandarin colloquial noun for one of two equal parts of a whole.
一部分yí bù fèn: An amount that makes up some part of a whole, without being the whole.

Definition in Chinese

表示整体的二分之一，也可指某物处于半程或部分状态，既可作名词也可作程度副词使用。biǎo shì zhéng tǐ de èr fēn zhī yī yě kě zhǐ mǒu wù chǔ yú bàn chéng huò bù fèn zhuàng tài jì kě zuò míng cí yě kě zuò chéng dù fù cí shǐ yòng

Word origin

The word 一半 (yībàn, "half") is built from 一 (yī, "one") and 半 (bàn, "half"), making its basic picture one half selected from a complete whole.

Usage tips

  • This word can describe an amount of food, time, or distance, so it works for both things that can be touched and things that can be measured.

Other meanings

  • halfwayadverb
  • partnoun

Opposites

Word lists with this word