半はん月げつ

also: はんげつ

は

ん

つ

き

Common wordJLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 20,000

Meanings

1

noun

half-moon

astronomy

Only with reading はんげつ

Astronomical term for the moon when half of its visible disk is illuminated. Also used in everyday language for the shape.

今こん夜やは半はん月げつがきれいに見みえる。
Tonight the half-moon looks beautiful.

2

noun

half a month

A period of about 15 days. Commonly used in contexts like schedules, deadlines, or durations.

半はん月つき後ごにまた会あいましょう。
Let's meet again in half a month.
この薬くすりは半はん月つき分ぶんあります。
This medicine is enough for half a month.

3

noun

semicircle

Only with reading はんげつ

Describes a semicircular shape. Less common than the half-moon sense; often used in descriptive or technical contexts.

子こ供どもたちが半はん月げつの形かたちに並ならんだ。
The children lined up in a semicircle.

Written forms

半月Usage100%
- はんつき
  Standard kanji spelling. Reading はんつき is the most common for the 'half a month' sense, while はんげつ is used for the moon shape and semicircle.
- はんげつ
  Reading used for the astronomical half-moon and semicircle senses.
はんげつ

Kanji

半half, middle, odd number
月month, moon

Similar words

満まん月げつ
満月 means 'full moon', the opposite phase of the moon from 半月.
三み日か月づき
三日月 means 'crescent moon', a thinner phase than 半月.
一いっヶか月げつ
一ヶ月 means 'one month', twice the duration of 半月 (half a month).

Etymology

Compound of 半 (half) and 月 (moon/month). The reading はんげつ uses the on'yomi for both characters, while はんつき mixes on'yomi and kun'yomi, which is common for the temporal sense.