How to say "half" in Japanese
Choosing the right word
- 半はんnoun (prefix), nounChiefly a combining element meaning 'half', 'semi-', or 'partial'; it rarely stands alone. For speaking of half of something in a sentence, 半分 is the usual choice.
- 半分はんぶんadverb, nounThe everyday word for 'half' as a quantity: half of a cake, half the money, divide something in half. This is the default choice when you simply want to say 'half'.
- nounThe loanword 'half'; it appears mainly inside borrowed expressions and names rather than as the ordinary word for half of something, which is 半分.
- 半数はんすうno-adjectiveCovers 'half (of an amount)' — half the number of a countable set, as in 'half the students agreed'. Use it when half of a group of people or things is meant.
- 五分ごぶnounEssentially a word of fixed expressions. Standing alone, it is seldom the way to say plain 'half' — for that, 半分 is the natural choice.
For half of something use 半分; for half of a number of people or things use 半数; 半 is a combining element, 「ハーフ」 a loanword used in borrowed expressions, and 五分 appears mainly in fixed phrases.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Japanese equivalents
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