How to say “half a day” in Chinese
half a day; a long time
“Half a day” in Chinese is 半天, bàn tiān: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
半天 is read bàn tiān: 2 syllables. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
How to write it
A person 大 with a stroke above the head: the sky.
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 “半天”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 半天. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 我等了你半天wǒděnglenǐbàntiānI waited ages for you.
- 我在家里四处找了半天。wǒzàijiālisìchùzhǎolebàntiānI spent ages searching all over the house.
- 我劝了他半天，他根本不听。wǒquànletābàntiān,tāgēnběnbùtīngI spent ages urging him, and he won't listen at all.
- 你怎么才来？人家等了你半天了！nǐzěnmecáilái,rénjiaděnglenǐbàntiānleWhy are you only getting here now? I’ve been waiting for you for ages, you know!
- 人家等了你半天了rénjiaděnglenǐbàntiānleI’ve been waiting for you for ages, you know!
- 他们为了一件小事争论了半天。tāmenwèileyíjiànxiǎoshìzhēnglùnlebàntiānThey argued for half the day over a trifle.
More words from the lesson “How long?”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “half a day” in Chinese?
“Half a day” in Chinese is 半天, pinyin bàntiān.
What does 半天 mean?
半天 (bàntiān) means “half a day; a long time”.
How do you write 半天?
半天 is 2 characters: 半 (bàn) — half; 天 (tiān) — sky, day. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 半天?
半天 is read bàntiān. Tones: bàn — fourth tone, tiān — first tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“half a day” in the lesson “How long?”
This word is from the topic “Seasons and time” of HSK 3. 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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