半 (bàn): half, semi-, incomplete
半 (bàn) is a Chinese character meaning “half.” Classified as HSK Level 1 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 丷 (structural) and 牛 (structural). It ranks #513 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 半 a cow 牛 splitting 丷 wood in half. Its radical form 十 (ten) appears in many related characters such as 十 (shí, ten), 午 (wǔ, 7th earthly branch: 11 a.m.-1 p.m., noon, 5th solar month (6th June-6th July), year of the Horse), 南 (nán, south).
Definitions
- half
- semi-
- incomplete
Etymology & Origin
ideographicA cow 牛 splitting 丷 wood in half
Decomposition: ⿻丷牛 (layout: overlay)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 半 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 半
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 一半numeral | yī bàn | half | 1 |
| 半夜numeral-measure/noun | bàn yè | midnight | 5 |
| 半天numeral-measure | bàn tiān | half of the day | 3 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 半辈子 | bàn bèi zi | half of a lifetime |
| 多半 | duō bàn | most |
| 半死 | bàn sǐ | half dead (of torment, hunger, tiredness etc) |
| 大半 | dà bàn | more than half |
| 半数 | bàn shù | half the number |
| 半径 | bàn jìng | radius |
| 半生 | bàn shēng | half a lifetime |
| 半点 | bàn diǎn | the least bit |
| 半岛 | bàn dǎo | peninsula |
| 半路 | bàn lù | halfway |
| 半决赛 | bàn jué sài | semifinals |
| 半空 | bàn kōng | midair |
| 半边 | bàn biān | half of sth |
| 半价 | bàn jià | half price |
| 半球 | bàn qiú | hemisphere |
半 appears in 100 compound words: 83 as the first character, 16 as the last, and 1 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 半 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (28)
half of the country (usually referring to the unoccupied part of an invaded country)
half of the country (usually referring to the unoccupied part of an invaded country)
six of one, half a dozen of the other; not much to choose between the two
half-cooked; underdone; underripe; not mastered; not skilled (of a technique)
half of the country (usually referring to the unoccupied part of an invaded country)
half of the country (usually referring to the unoccupied part of an invaded country)
Showing 12 of 28 idioms containing 半.
Example Sentences
年轻人应该勇于尝试新事物，不要害怕失败。
Niánqīng rén yīnggāi yǒngyú chángshì xīn shìwù, bùyào hàipà shībài.
Young people should be brave in trying new things and not be afraid of failure.
...!市内必到免费景点 全澳最古老美术馆/南半球最大露天市集/最美图书馆
. . . ! shì nèi bì dào miǎn fèi jǐng diǎn quán ào zuì gǔ lǎo měi shù guǎn nán bàn qiú zuì dà lù tiān shì jí zuì měi tú shū guǎn
...! Free attractions in the city The oldest art gallery in Australia / the largest open-air market in the southern hemisphere / the most beautiful library
离婚黄子佼半年!孟耿如近况曝光 周丹薇泄私下互动
lí hūn huáng zǐ 佼 bàn nián ! mèng gěng rú jìn kuàng pù guāng zhōu dān 薇 xiè sī xià hù dòng
Divorced Huang Zijiao for half a year! Meng Gengru's recent situation was exposed, and Zhou Danwei leaked private interactions
被困晴空塔升降机长达5个半小时 约20人全部获救
bèi kùn qíng kōng tǎ shēng jiàng jī cháng dá 5 gè bàn xiǎo shí yuē 2 0 rén quán bù huò jiù
Trapped in the Skytree lift for five and a half hours, about 20 people were rescued
春运过半 中国铁路累计发送旅客2.58亿人次
chūn yùn guò bàn zhōng guó tiě lù lěi jì fā sòng lǚ kè 2 . 5 8 yì rén cì
More than half of the Spring Festival travel China Railway has sent a total of 258 million passengers
女生半年卖出800多只点翠大蟑螂,还推出苍蝇胸...
nǚ shēng bàn nián mài chū duō zhī diǎn cuì dà 蟑 螂 , hái tuī chū cāng yíng xiōng . . .
The girl sold more than 800 big cockroaches in six months, and also launched the fly breast...
他妈的，哪个傻子敢在半夜打我电话?!
Tāmāde, nǎge shǎzi gǎn zài bànyè dǎ wǒ diànhuà?!
Fucking hell, what idiot dare phone me in the middle of the night?
现在才6点半，怎么会堵车呢？
Xiànzài cái 6 diǎn bàn, zěnme huì dǔchē ne?
How can there be a traffic jam now, as late as 6 o'clock?
你知道他们什么时候到吗？ 今晚11点半。
Nǐ zhīdào tāmen shénmeshíhou dào ma? jīnwǎn 11 diǎn bàn.
"Do you know when they will arrive?" "At eleven-thirty this evening."
您要整份还是半份？
Nín yào zhěng fèn háishi bàn fèn?
Do you want all or half of it?
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 半 (bàn) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 半 have?
What is the radical of 半?
What are the components of 半?
What are common words containing 半?
What characters sound the same as 半 (bàn)?
Is 半 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 半 with real-time feedback
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