漢字Kanji · in Time & Sequence
半: half, middle
Also: odd number, semi-, part-
JLPT N55 strokesGrade 2Your ink: 白 Not met
丶 and 十 carry the meaning · 二 is drawn in
5 strokes
Two readings, and the words that use each
ハンhan · on'yomi · in compounds
- 半分はんぶんhalf
- 半額はんがくhalf price
- 半導体はんどうたいsemiconductor
- 半熟はんじゅくsoft-boiled
- 一時半いちじはんhalf past one
- 二年半にねんはんtwo and a half years
なかばnakaba · kun'yomi · on its own
- 月半ばつきなかばmiddle of the month
Words: Kanji alive, CC BY 4.0.
成り立ち
Where it comes from
Origin · sourced
Ideogrammic compound (會意)八 to divide + 牛 cow
To cut a cow into two halves.
Source: Wiktionary, 半 (rev. 92917042), CC BY-SA 4.0
Memory story · made up to help you remember
“Reach the finish line! This radical represents the number ten and the profound sense of arrival and completeness it brings.”
繋がり
Connections
Ink shades, lightest to darkest: 白 Not met, 淡 Met, 中 Learning, 濃 Familiar, 印 Mastered
半 gives its sound to
The family reading is ハン (han). Sound parts: KanjiVG.
Easy to confuse
The difference, side by side半 half · 丶 + 二 + 十
vs平 even · 干In ChineseSame character in simplified and traditional · bàn
Same form: 半 is written the same way in mainland China (simplified) and in Taiwan and Hong Kong (traditional).
- Simplified
- 半 mainland China, Singapore
- Traditional
- 半 Taiwan, Hong Kong
Pinyin bàn most common reading
Forms and pinyin: Unicode Unihan database (Unicode License v3). Pinyin lists the most common reading, not every reading.
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