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Kanji Detail for 半 - "half, middle"

半

  • Meaning

    半 means "half, middle." Also associated with edge.

    1. Half - One of two parts; halfway.

    2. Middle - The center; midpoint.

    3. Edge - A fragment; a piece.

    4. Incomplete - Imperfect; partial.

    5. Odd number - Not even.

  • Words using 半

    • 時半 じはん Listen half past (the hour)
    • 前半 ぜんはん Listen first half
    • 半分 はんぶん Listen half
    • 後半 こうはん Listen second half; latter half
    • 大半 たいはん Listen majority; more than half; most (of)
    • 半年 はんとし Listen half a year; six months
    • 半数 はんすう Listen half the number; half (of an amount); haploid (organism, cell, etc.)
    • 半導体 はんどうたい Listen semiconductor

  • Four-character idioms with 半

    • 中途半端 ちゅうとはんぱ Listen halfway; half measures; unfinished
    • 半信半疑 はんしんはんぎ Listen half in doubt; half-convinced; dubious
    • 半官半民 はんかんはんみん Listen semi-governmental; semi-official
    • 半身不随 はんしんふずい Listen hemiplegia (paralysis on one side of the body)
    • 一文半銭 いちもんきなか Listen meagre sum of money
    • 一知半解 いっちはんかい Listen superficial knowledge; half knowledge

  • Tattoo check: 半

    • Verified meaning: half, middle
    • Official Jōyō kanji — a standard character every Japanese reader recognises
    • Used in real Japanese given names (read なか, なかば, はん, はんざき)
    • Also carries these associations: edge

    A single kanji rarely maps one-to-one onto an English word. Read the meanings and associations above as a set — a character that fits the dictionary definition can still carry a connotation you did not intend.

  • Name readings of 半

    Given names 半(なかば)Listen 半(はん)Listen

    Surnames 半(なか)Listen 半(はんざき)Listen

  • Dictionary Citations

    The meaning above is based on the following sources:

    KANJIDIC2 A comprehensive Japanese-English kanji dictionary

    half; middle; odd number; semi-; part-

    Unihan Unicode Han Database for CJK characters

    half

    CC-CEDICT A Chinese-English dictionary

    half; semi-; incomplete; (after a number) and a half

    Make Me a Hanzi Open-source Chinese character data

    half; semi-, incomplete

    XSZD Xuéshēng Zìdiǎn (學生字典) - Student's Dictionary

    Dividing something in the middle. Such as 得半失半 (half gained, half lost).

  • Onyomi

    tip

    han(ハン) ハン

  • Kunyomi

    tip

    naka.ba(なか-ば) なか-ば

  • Strokes

    tip

    5 strokes

  • Radical

    tip

    十 (ju)

  • Related Keywords

    half middle edge incomplete odd number semi partial divided fraction halved midpoint bisected fragment moderate

Sentences including 半

  • If you're doing it in fun , i'd rather you didn't come.

  • It is just half past seven.

  • It took me an hour and a half to get there by car.

  • I have been waiting for an hour and a half.

  • I don't like to leave things up in the air.

  • Don't do such a thing in fun.

  • Does school start at eight-thirty?

  • The train will get you there after half the time.

  • I've finished half so far.

  • We arrived at the station a half-hour before the train started.

Sentences from Japanese classical masterpieces

More kanji with the radical 十 (ju)

See all kanji with this radical →

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