How to say “half” in Chinese

一半

yíbàn

half

numeral · HSK 1 · topic “Time and the day”

“Half” in Chinese is 一半, yí bàn: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.

How to pronounce it

一半 is read yí bàn: 2 syllables. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.

yí — 2nd tonerising, like a surprised “huh?”

bàn — 4th tonesharply falling, like “Stop!”

How to write it

一

yī — one

Before a measure word its tone changes: yí before a fourth tone, yì before the others. In numbers and dates it stays yī.

半

bàn — half

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 “一半”.

Examples

Sentences from the course lessons with 一半. Tap the sound icon to listen.

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.
他用一半存款买了股票。tāyòngyíbàncúnkuǎnmǎilegǔpiàoHe spent half of his savings on shares.
年轻用户的占比超过了一半niánqīngyònghùdezhànbǐchāoguòleyíbànThe share of young users has passed half.
这个品牌占有一半以上的市场zhègepǐnpáizhànyǒuyíbànyǐshàngdeshìchǎngThis brand holds more than half of the market.

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 一半, pinyin yíbàn.

What does 一半 mean?

一半 (yíbàn) means “half”.

How do you write 一半?

一半 is 2 characters: 一 (yī) — one; 半 (bàn) — half. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.

How do you pronounce 一半?

一半 is read yíbàn. Tones: yí — second tone, 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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