真まっ二ぷたつ

ま

っ

ぷ

た

つ

Common wordJLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 100,000

Meanings

1

noun

in two equal parts; right in half

Emphasizes a clean, decisive split into two equal halves; often used with verbs like 割れる, 切る, or 折る.

皿さらが真まっ二ぷたつに割われた。
The plate broke clean in half.
彼かれは板いたを真まっ二ぷたつに切きった。
He cut the board right in two.

Kanji

真true, reality, Buddhist sect
二two, two radical (no. 7)

Similar words

二ふたつ
二つ simply means 'two' or 'two things'; 真っ二つ adds the nuance of being split exactly in half.
半はん分ぶん
半分 means 'half' as a portion or amount; 真っ二つ focuses on the action or state of being split into two equal parts.

Etymology

Formed from the intensifying prefix 真っ (ma-) attached to 二つ (futatsu, 'two'), with the reading shift to まっぷたつ. The exact historical derivation of the geminated consonant is uncertain, but it is a common pattern in emphatic words.