Translation guide
The English word 'half' can refer to a 50% portion, a midpoint, or partial states. In Japanese, the most common equivalent is 半分 (はんぶん), but other expressions like 半 (はん) as a prefix, 半数 (はんすう) for 'half the number', and idiomatic phrases are used depending on context.
Expressing exactly one of two equal parts of something.
The most common and versatile word for 'half'. Can be used for physical objects, abstract quantities, time, etc.
Please cut the cake in half.
Half of the work is done.
Attaches to nouns to mean 'half-', often in fixed compounds. Not freely productive.
Used specifically for 'half the number' of people or countable items.
Referring to the middle point of a period, distance, or process.
Means 'middle' or 'center', often used for spatial midpoints. Can imply 'halfway' in context.
Don't stop in the middle of the road.
Means 'on the way' or 'midway', often for processes or journeys.
Literary or formal word for 'middle' or 'halfway', often used in temporal or abstract contexts.
Describing something that is not fully realized or only partly done.
Used in compounds to mean 'semi-', 'partly', or 'half-'. Common in words like 半透明 (translucent) or 半信半疑 (half in doubt).
translucent glass (half-transparent)
I listened to the story half in doubt.
Expressing 'half' in numerical or fractional contexts.
半分 means a 50% portion, not a midpoint in a journey or process. Use 途中 or 真ん中 for spatial/temporal midpoints.
半分 is for portions of a whole (mass, volume, abstract). 半数 is specifically for half of a countable number of people or things.
Half of the participants were women.
I ate half of the cake.
I only understood half of what he said.
We split the bill in half.
Natural Japanese uses 割り勘 (splitting evenly), not a literal 'half'.
half price
クラスの半数が賛成した。
Half the class agreed.
映画の途中で寝てしまった。
I fell asleep halfway through the movie.
人生の半ばで転職した。
I changed careers in the middle of my life.
Means 'half-finished', 'half-hearted', or 'neither one thing nor the other'. Often negative.
Stop being so half-hearted.
Let's meet at half past three.
It took a month and a half.