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Expressing "half" with 半 ("ban4")

半 bàn

Grammar
HSK 2

Structure

半 + Measure Word + Noun Number + Measure Word + 半 + Noun 半 + 天 / 年 Number + 天 / 年 + 半

Definition

半（bàn）表示二分之一，即一半。也可用于表示不完全、部分或中间状态。

半 (bàn) means half, i.e., one of two equal parts. It can also indicate incompleteness, partialness, or an intermediate state.

Usage

半常用于名词前表示一半的数量，如“半杯水”；也可用于时间表示半小时，如“半小时”；还可用于形容词前表示不完全，如“半新”；或用于固定短语中表示中间状态，如“半途而废”。

半 is often used before a noun to indicate half of the quantity, e.g., 'half a glass of water'; it can also be used for time to mean half an hour, e.g., 'half an hour'; it can be used before adjectives to indicate incompleteness, e.g., 'half-new'; or in fixed phrases to indicate an intermediate state, e.g., 'give up halfway'.

Examples

  • 1 请给我半杯水。(Please give me half a glass of water.)
  • 2 他等了半小时。(He waited for half an hour.)
  • 3 这件衣服是半新的。(This piece of clothing is half-new.)
  • 4 半山腰有一个小亭子。(There is a small pavilion halfway up the mountain.)
  • 5 别半途而废，坚持到底。(Don't give up halfway; persevere to the end.)

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