Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word
半. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
半, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
半 in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
半 you have here. The definition of the word
半 will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
半, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
Translingual
Stroke order
|
|
Alternative forms
- In Korean hanja, the upper component of the character is written in the form of ハ.
Han character
半 (Kangxi radical 24, 十+3, 5 strokes, cangjie input 火手 (FQ), four-corner 90500, composition ⿻丷𰀁(GHTJV) or ⿻八𰀁(K))
- Shuowen Jiezi radical №18
Derived characters
- 伴, 坢, 拌, 泮, 怑, 姅, 絆, (绊), 柈, 胖, 眫, 畔, 秚, 袢, 衅, 跘, 詊, (𫟟), 鉡, 靽,
- 判, 叛
References
- Kangxi Dictionary: page 156, character 7
- Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 2707
- Dae Jaweon: page 354, character 6
- Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 46, character 1
- Unihan data for U+534A
Chinese
Glyph origin
|
Old Chinese
|
半
|
*paːns
|
絆
|
*paːns
|
靽
|
*paːns
|
姅
|
*paːns, *pʰaːns
|
拌
|
*pʰaːn, *baːnʔ
|
拚
|
*pʰaːn, *brons, *pʰaːn, *puns
|
坢
|
*pʰaːnʔ
|
判
|
*pʰaːns
|
泮
|
*pʰaːns
|
頖
|
*pʰaːns
|
胖
|
*pʰaːns
|
冸
|
*pʰaːns
|
牉
|
*pʰaːns
|
柈
|
*baːn
|
伴
|
*baːnʔ, *baːns
|
叛
|
*baːns
|
畔
|
*baːns
|
袢
|
*ban
|
Ideogrammic compound (會意/会意) : 八 (“to divide”) + 牛 (“cow”) – to cut a cow into two halves.
Etymology
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *par. Related to 畔 (OC *baːns, “bank between fields”), which is an endopassive of 半 (OC *paːns, “half”), lit. "be separated from".
Pronunciation
Note:
- pòaⁿ - vernacular;
- poàn - literary.
Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
|
Character
|
半
|
Reading #
|
1/1
|
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)
|
bàn
|
Middle Chinese
|
‹ panH ›
|
Old Chinese
|
/*pˁan-s/
|
English
|
half
|
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system:
* Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence;
* Square brackets "" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. * as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p;
* Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix;
* Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary;
* Period "." indicates syllable boundary.
|
Zhengzhang system (2003)
|
Character
|
半
|
Reading #
|
1/1
|
No.
|
243
|
Phonetic component
|
半
|
Rime group
|
元
|
Rime subdivision
|
1
|
Corresponding MC rime
|
半
|
Old Chinese
|
/*paːns/
|
Definitions
半
- half
- 全國人口的一半/全国人口的一半 ― quánguó rénkǒu de yībàn ― half of the national population
- 一磅半 [Cantonese] ― jat1 bong6 bun3 ― 1½ pounds
- 十點半/十点半 [Cantonese] ― sap6 dim2 bun3 ― 10:30
- very little
- halfway, partially, semi-
- 半醉半醒 ― bàn zuì bàn xǐng ― partially in a stupor, partially awake
- (Hong Kong, informal, neologism) half past
- 九半 [Cantonese] ― gau2 bun3 ― half past nine
- (informal, Canada, Quebec, real estate) half room, bathroom
- 三个半公寓 ― sān ge bàn gōngyù ― a 3.5 apartment (an apartment unit with a kitchen, a bedroom and a living room, plus a bathroom)
Usage notes
半 (bàn) + classifier + noun indicate half of something, while number + classifier + 半 (bàn) + noun means "and a half".
- 半塊麵包/半块面包 ― bàn kuài miànbāo ― half a loaf of bread
- 兩塊半麵包/两块半面包 ― liǎng kuài bàn miànbāo ― two and a half loaves of bread
Compounds
Further reading
Japanese
Shinjitai
|
半
|
|
Kyūjitai
|
半󠄁 半+󠄁 ? (Adobe-Japan1)
|
|
半󠄃 半+󠄃 ? (Hanyo-Denshi) (Moji_Joho)
|
The displayed kanji may be different from the image due to your environment. See here for details.
|
Kanji
半
(grade 2 “Kyōiku” kanji)
- half
Readings
Compounds
Noun
半 • (han)
- odd (especially of dice)
- Antonyms: 丁 (chō, “even”)
Prefix
半 • (han-)
- half, semi-
- 半年
- hantoshi
- semiannual
- 半世紀
- hanseiki
- semicentennial
- Antonyms
Suffix
半 • (-han)
- and a half
- 四倍半
- yon-bai han
- four and a half times
- 二十二年半
- nijūni-nen han
- twenty-two and a half years
References
- ^ “半”, in 漢字ぺディア (Kanjipedia) (in Japanese), 日本漢字能力検定協会, 2015–2024
Korean
Etymology
From Middle Chinese 半 (MC panH). Recorded as Middle Korean 반 (pan) (Yale: pan) in Sinjeung Yuhap (新增類合 / 신증유합), 1576.
Pronunciation
- (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA(key):
- Phonetic hangul:
- Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.
Hanja
Wikisource
半 (eumhun 반 반 (ban ban))
- Hanja form? of 반 (“half”).
Compounds
Compounds
- 반지 (半指, banji)
- 반구 (半球, ban'gu)
- 절반 (折半, jeolban)
- 반음 (半音, baneum)
- 반도체 (半導體, bandoche)
- 한반도 (韓半島, Hanbando)
- 과반수 (過半數, gwabansu)
- 반치음 (半齒音, banchieum)
- 북반구 (北半球, Bukban'gu)
- 남반구 (南半球, Namban'gu)
- 반만년 (半萬年, banmannyeon)
- 반가좌 (半跏坐, ban'gajwa)
References
- 국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會 大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전/電子字典.
Vietnamese
Han character
半: Hán Việt readings: bán (博漫切)
半: Nôm readings: bán, bớn, bướng, vắn, búng, bận, ban, bướn
- chữ Hán form of bán (“half”).
- Nôm form of vắn (“short, brief”).
- Nôm form of bán (“to sell”).
- Nôm form of bớn.
Compounds
References