How to say “half” in Chinese
half
“Half” in Chinese is 半, bàn: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
半 is read bàn. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
How to write it
Strokes go in order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical. Tap a character to open its page, with the strokes shown large and the words it appears in. To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for “半”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 半. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 现在三点半xiànzàisāndiǎnbànIt's half past three.
- 我等了你半天wǒděnglenǐbàntiānI waited ages for you.
- 今年游客减少了一半jīnniányóukèjiǎnshǎoleyíbànThis year the number of tourists fell by half.
- 床占了卧室一半的面积。chuángzhànlewòshìyíbàndemiànjīThe bed takes up half the bedroom.
- 老年人占居民的一半lǎoniánrénzhànjūmíndeyíbànOlder people make up half of the residents.
- 我在家里四处找了半天。wǒzàijiālisìchùzhǎolebàntiānI spent ages searching all over the house.
More characters by topic — happiness, luck, strength, nature — on the page “Chinese characters with meanings”.
More words from the lesson “What time is it?”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “half” in Chinese?
“Half” in Chinese is 半, pinyin bàn.
What does 半 mean?
半 (bàn) means “half”.
How do you write 半?
半 is 1 character. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 半?
半 is read bàn. Tones: bàn — fourth tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“half” in the lesson “What time is it?”
This word is from the topic “Time and the day” of HSK 1. In the lesson you hear it in a dialogue, build a sentence with it and say it out loud. Start for free, no sign-up needed.
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