also: はんぺい
pounded fish cake; hanpen
A soft, white, square or triangular fish cake made from ground white fish and yam, often used in oden or soups. The word is almost always written in kana.
Please put some hanpen in the oden.
Hanpen is fluffy and absorbs broth well.
half a slice; half a ticket; ticket stub
Only when written 半片 / 半平
Rare, kanji-specific meaning. Refers to half of a flat item like a slice of something or a ticket. The reading はんぺい is restricted to the 半平 spelling.
You cannot enter with half a ticket.
What is this half a slice of?
The food sense is almost always written in kana. The kanji forms 半片 and 半平 are rare and mainly used for the non-food sense.
Alternate kanji form with reading はんぺい, restricted to the 'half a slice/ticket' sense.
Kanji form for 'half a slice/ticket'; rarely used for the fish cake sense.
The food name はんぺん is said to derive from the shape resembling a half-moon (半月, はんげつ) or from the name of a cook, Hanpei. The kanji 半片 and 半平 are ateji. The 'half' sense is a literal use of the kanji 半 (half) + 片 (piece) or 平 (flat).